Setting The Record Straight
by The 61 Minutes News Team
Summary: With the revelation of their identites, the original 12 Power Rangers of Earth join Barbara Walters in an interview that delves into their lives, civilian and Ranger, to give a look at the people behind the helmets. Interview 5: Adam Park.
1. Prologue

**"Setting The Record Straight"  
Prologue**

**Written By:** The 61 Minutes News Team (Pink-Green-White-4ever and Shawn30)

**Summary:** With two years of false news reports, lies written in many articles, privacy-invading prime time exposes, and unofficial books written about them and their former lives as Power Rangers the original twelve decide to finally set the record straight in a series of one-on-one interviews with Barbara Walters.

**Timeline:** Early 2007. Power Rangers Dino Thunder took place, although Tommy and Kim reunited during it. All will be explained in their own words. EVERYTHING else is canon, but keep in mind the Rangers are adults now and we're writing this as if the events in the PR universe happened in real life.

**Rating:** R for no holds barred adult language.  
**Couples:** Outside of Tommy and Kim just keep your eyes open evil grin

**Email:** Notes 1. In early 2005 secret Government files were accidentally opened to the public revealing the names of the first twelve Power Rangers. The C.I.A were covertly keeping tabs on everything that took place in Angel Grove during the Rangers tour of duty and discovered over the years the identities of the Power Rangers. They never learned all the details of what happened behind the scenes with Zordon or the various enemies they fought, but enough intelligence was gathered that names and addresses were discovered. Upon being ousted to the public, the former Rangers anonymous lives were over as they became instant, overnight celebrities.

But the lights of stardom tend to fade and after while their privacy was being invaded from all sides. Former friends and family members began writing books and giving interviews for money. News crews hounded their residences. Paparazzi hounded them everywhere they went, as well as their work places. Nighttime news programs ran intense exposé on their lives, loves, and pieced-together history as Power Rangers. Outright Lies, crazy assumptions, and rude invasions of  
privacy have led the former Rangers to finally break their silence and tell their story in their own words.

As is posted on the ABC: The profile of Barbara Walters, she has arguably interviewed more statesmen, Presidents, and stars than any other journalist in history. She is so well known that her name and a brief biography is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary. And when the former Ranger's new publicist contacted her to conduct the interviews she jumped at the chance to bring the story of Earth's greatest heroes to the world in their own words, while humanizing the larger than life warriors that risked their lives to protect the world for so many years.

Choosing a small, intimate studio audience while allowing call-in questions to be taken live on the air, the former Power Rangers will at last tell their story, answer Barbara's pointed questions as well as your own concerning their professional and private lives. Expect the unexpected as this prime time interview series will air on HBO instead of network television.

**Authors Notes 2:** Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver opens the new groundbreaking series, followed by her husband Dr. Tommy Oliver, Jason Lee Scott and Trini Kwan. The next series will involve Dr. Billy Cranston, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard, and Aisha Campbell. The last series gives us Tanya Sloan, Rocky DeSantos, Zackary Taylor and Justin Stewart. Concluding things will be a huge round table discussion with all of the Rangers present.

**Authors Notes 3:** Rita Repulsa first attacked the Earth on August 28, 1993. That's twelve and a half years ago. Our walk down memory lane begins now...

--

_(Male voice over)_ "This is The Barbara Walters special the entire world has waited to see."

_(Video footage of massive Zord's streaking across the sky and then swooping down on alien invaders.) _

_(Barbara Walters voice-over)_ "They were known as the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Earth's first, last, and best line of defense against powerful enemies far beyond the abilities of the military."

_(Video footage of towering alien monsters rampaging downtown Angel Grove, destroying buildings and everything in their path while citizens ran for their lives.)_

"Though no one knew who they were or where they came from, the first five Power Rangers emerged; the red, blue, yellow, black, and pink Ranger's took the world by storm with their heroic daily defense of the planet. Never seeking fame or seeking fortune they valiantly risked their lives while offering no reason why or expectation of recondition for their deeds."

_(Video footage shown of the first five Rangers engaged in intense hand-to-hand combat in the streets of Angel Grove, battling hordes of Putties. Laser fire explodes all over the screen.) _

"Though secretive, they were the media darlings of the world, and as popular as they were, when the formerly evil Green Ranger joined their ranks, the Rangers popularity skyrocketed into cult status. They were officially a phenomenon."

_(Video footage of the most famous Power Ranger battles of all time. Incredible acrobatics are displayed. Hulking Mega Zords pulverize gigantic monsters while people scatter for their lives below. The entrance of the White Ranger includes his infamous theme song and his ascension to leader.) _

"Not only did the Power Rangers come in new colors, but behind the scenes things were changing as well. The public has always wondered just who were those amazing individuals? Where did they come from and why did their uniforms change from time to time? These larger than life heroes came into our lives and then vanished for years at a time only to reappear in other cities when the threats to Earth returned."

_(Video footage of various Ranger teams in action poses, leaping through the air in gravity defying maneuvers, running from humongous explosions as rock music played throughout.)_

"No matter the team-title at the beginning or the end, the name was the same: Power Rangers. The defenders of Earth. They were the silent heroes we told our children stories about at night. They were counted on to save the day and never failed us. They gave us hope at a time when little was to be found. We never had a face or a voice or even a first name to any of the Rangers and for most that was alright. They had saved the Earth countless times and when the Rangers of Angel Grove disappeared we all hoped and prayed that they were at peace wherever they were.

_(Video montage of Ranger battles in slow motion with softer music playing in the background.) _

"And then came March 5th, 2005. Several highly classified government documents were accidentally made public in a blunder to this day still earmarked in controversy. The fallout of which detailed by name the first twelve Power Rangers of Angel Grove. Two years later no less than five hundred newspaper articles, nineteen books, fifty primetime news programs in several languages, and an upcoming major motion picture epic have all attempted to piece together the story of the people inside the helmets."

_(Video footage of Trini Kwan being chased by paparazzi into her car outside a grocery store. Dr. Billy Cranston attempting to teach a physics class at M.I.T with hordes of cameramen standing outside the building filming his lecture. Aisha Campbell nearly coming to blows with a reporter who almost rear-ended her car.)_

"Two years of having their private lives shredded in the media, chased at every turn by reporters and news hounds, as well as having books written about them without their consent has led to all twelve of the original Power Rangers agreeing to a series of individual interviews that will finally give the world a peek inside their lives in their own words. We here at ABC would like to thank Dr. Tommy and Kimberly Oliver, Jason Lee Scott, Trini Kwan, Billy Cranston, Aisha Campbell, Adam and Tanya Park, Rocky DeSantos, Katherine Hillard and Justin Stewart for their time and candor."

_(Slow motion video footage of the former Rangers in street clothes standing on Angel Grove Mountain at dawn, the stone visage of the Command Center in the background.)_

"Every story... every rumor... every assumption you have ever had about Earth's greatest heroes is about to be explained in their own words. It's time to meet the Power Rangers for the very first time."


	2. Interview 1: Kimberly Hart Oliver

**"Setting The Record Straight"  
Interview 1 of 12**

**Written By:** The 61 Minutes News Team (Pink-Green-White-4ever and Shawn30)

**Summary:** With two years of false news reports, lies written in many articles, privacy-invading prime time exposes, and unofficial books written about them and their former lives as Power Rangers the original twelve decide to finally set the record straight in a series of one-on-one interviews with Barbara Walters.

**Timeline:** Early 2007. Power Rangers Dino Thunder took place, although Tommy and Kim reunited during it. All will be explained in their own words. EVERYTHING else is canon, but keep in mind the Rangers are adults now and we're writing this as if the events in the PR universe happened in real life.

**Rating:** R for no holds barred adult language.  
**Couples:** Outside of Tommy and Kim just keep your eyes open evil grin

**Email:** see our profile

**Authors Notes 1:** In early 2005 secret Government files were accidentally opened to the public revealing the names of the first twelve Power Rangers. The C.I.A were covertly keeping tabs on everything that took place in Angel Grove during the Rangers tour of duty and discovered over the years the identities of the Power Rangers. They never learned all the details of what happened behind the scenes with Zordon or the various enemies they fought, but enough intelligence was gathered that names and addresses were discovered. Upon being ousted to the public, the former Rangers anonymous lives were over as they became instant, overnight celebrities.

But the lights of stardom tend to fade and after while their privacy was being invaded from all sides. Former friends and family members began writing books and giving interviews for money. News crews hounded their residences. Paparazzi hounded them everywhere they went, as well as their work places. Nighttime news programs ran intense exposé on their lives, loves, and pieced-together history as Power Rangers. Outright Lies, crazy assumptions, and rude invasions of  
privacy have led the former Rangers to finally break their silence and tell their story in their own words.

As is posted on the ABC: The profile of Barbara Walters, she has arguably interviewed more statesmen, Presidents, and stars than any other journalist in history. She is so well known that her name and a brief biography is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary. And when the former Ranger's new publicist contacted her to conduct the interviews she jumped at the chance to bring the story of Earth's greatest heroes to the world in their own words, while humanizing the larger than life warriors that risked their lives to protect the world for so many years.

Choosing a small, intimate studio audience while allowing call-in questions to be taken live on the air, the former Power Rangers will at last tell their story, answer Barbara's pointed questions as well as your own concerning their professional and private lives. Expect the unexpected as this prime time interview series will air on HBO instead of network television.

**Authors Notes 2:** Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver opens the new groundbreaking series, followed by her husband Dr. Tommy Oliver, Jason Lee Scott and Trini Kwan. The next series will involve Dr. Billy Cranston, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard, and Aisha Campbell. The last series gives us Tanya Sloan, Rocky DeSantos, Zackary Taylor and Justin Stewart. Concluding things will be a huge round table discussion with all of the Rangers present.

**Authors Notes 3:** Rita Repulsa first attacked the Earth on August 28, 1993. That's twelve and a half years ago. Our walk down memory lane begins now...

--

"I'm Barbara Walters and welcome to _Setting The Record Straight_, an in depth look into the lives of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Earth's first defenders, in their own words," the seasoned journalist announced as she sat in a chair on a small, quaint stage, not unlike the stage for her television show, _The View_. In the audience, a group of twenty-five specially picked guests sat, waiting for the start of the interviews the world was dying to hear. "My first guest is perhaps the most well known of the group of twelve, out of uniform." Images of gymnasts performing on the various apparatuses and snap shots from the Pan Global Games and Olympics started appearing.

"In 1996, she wowed the world by coming from an relatively unknown place to capture gymnastics gold as a member of the United States' Pan Global Games' Women's Gymnastics Team, as well as earning several other individual medals." Clips of a petite brunette in a red, white and blue leotard begin flashing. "She also participated as an alternate for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games for the United States, coached the 2002 United States Pan Global Women's team and was the United States Women's Beam and Floor Coach for the Athens Games." Pictures of Kimberly coaching at various events flashed before a large image of the Pink Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger appeared.

"When the Power Rangers first appeared in 1993, many little girls around the world were given their first live female superhero in the form of the Pink Pterodactyl Ranger." The television screens were suddenly filled with the image of the Pterodactyl Dino Zord rising from the pit of a volcano at an incredible velocity, then zooming off into battle in an unbelievable display of aerial acrobatics. Flashes of energy from the Pink Ranger's Power Bow strike the 'Z' on the chests of multiple putties with perfect accuracy.

"And when her time in a uniform came to an end, she valiantly passed her powers on to a friend, successfully ensuring the legacy of the Pink Ranger would live on." One moment the television screen showed the petite Pink Ranger standing with her teammates and then it morphed to show a much taller Pink Ranger in the same stance.

"Please help me welcome original Pink Ranger, Kimberly Hart-Oliver."

The audience clapped and cheered when a petite brunette walked onto the stage from behind a large backdrop. Barbara greeted her with a firm handshake and then the pair settled into the chairs in front of the audience, the cameras rolling as the crew listened on in as much interest as the audience. "Thank you, Kimberly, for agreeing to come tonight."

The twenty-eight year old smiled brightly. "I'm happy to be here. It's been a long time coming, to be quite honest."

"Now, to give all of you a bit of personal background on Kimberly, she's twenty-eight, married," Barbara emphasized, causing Kim to grin and nod. "She owns her own gymnastics academy in Reefside, California, and she was the original Pink Ranger of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers." The audience applauded; the sound was like thunder to Kimberly's ears in the small space of the stage. "Now, Kimberly, since you're the first of the Rangers to speak out, would you please tell us how the Power Rangers came to be?"

"Sure. Well, you see, in 1993, on a mission to the moon, two astronauts opened a space dumpster and released Rita Repulsa and her minions from their 10,000 year captivity." At that, Kimberly made a face but continued. "When Rita attacked Earth that first time, there was this massive earthquake in California, and suddenly Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy and I found ourselves being teleported from the Youth Center to the Command Center. That's where we met Alpha 5 and Zordon. Zordon gave us a quick explanation of what was going on, and then told us he'd picked us, five ordinary teenagers," she paused, as if her mind had gone back to that fateful day before she remembered where she was. "To be the defenders of Earth; he gave us our morphers and the original power coins, and charged us with becoming the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers."

Barbara stared at her, a skeptical look on her face. "Just like that? Zordon just picked five teenagers at random to be the Power Rangers?"

Kim chuckled. "Just like that. We were pretty resistant at first, except Jason, but we got over the shock pretty fast; we didn't have much of a choice, considering we found out we were really fighting for the survival of Earth."

"That's very interesting. Kimberly, everyone in America, and around the world for that matter, is dying to ask about the inner workings of the original Ranger team. Would you describe to us what your base of operations was like?"

A soft, gentle smile graced Kimberly's lips as she thought back to what the Commander Center looked like. "Believe it or not, we were prepared for that question to get asked, so Billy, Trini and Justin put together a small presentation for you."

On a large projection screen to Kimberly's left, an image of a building on a lone mountain appeared. "This is the Command Center from the outside. It was in the mountains of Angel Grove. One of the reasons no one ever found it is because it was surrounded by a cloaking shield, so that anyone who didn't possess the power or wasn't directly teleported in wouldn't be able to find it."

The next image was of a room lit by a central light and dozens of tiny twinkle lights. There was a main area of the room, made up of a ring of what looked like high tech computers, and to either side of those computers were objects – one side was a tall, light blue tubular structure and the other a large, glass ball on a pedestal. "Now, Kimberly, what's this?" Barbara asked, pointing to the image.

"That Barbara is the main room of the Command Center. The circular area is where all our computers were. If you think your home computer is awesome, you should have seen these ones, and of course the later computers in the Power and Turbo Chambers. I never learned how to really use any of them, because they intimidated the hell out of me. The large glass ball was what we called the Viewing Globe. Its basic function was to let us see what was going on in the outside world. Any time there was an attack or Zordon and Alpha needed to show us something, it appeared in the viewing globe. I always likened it to a big television screen, only this one had universal cable."

The audience laughed at Kimberly's quick joke before Barbara spoke up again. "And that large tube structure, what is that?"

"That's Zordon's warp tube. It was the only way we could connect and speak with him, because Rita had locked him in a time warp. He use to just appear in it whenever we showed up, that is, if he wasn't already in it when we arrived. The first time we were in the Command Center, we nearly had heart attacks because he just suddenly popped up out of no where. I mean one minute we're at the Youth Center hanging out, the next minute we're in a weird room with this little robot and a floating, talking head. Talk about trippy."

"And what about the rest of the base?"

"Basically, we had the main room, a medical room, and another room Billy and Trini used to do experiments and create new gadgets and gizmos for us to use. There were other rooms, but they were all hidden from us most of the time, so we didn't bother with them until we had to."

"What about your arsenal?" Barbara asked, looking from her notes to Kimberly, who was smiling. Everyone in the studio looked to the screen as images of the zords, weapons and suits appeared.

Kim smiled and turned back to Barbara. "We each had our own weapon; Jason's was the Power Sword, Trini had the Power Daggers, Zack commanded the Power Axe, Billy was given the Power Lance, and I was graced with the Power Bow. Separately, these five weapons were powerful, effective, and tuned to each of our personal styles. When we put them together, they formed the Power Blaster, which took out quite a few of the monsters back in the day. As the Green Ranger, Tommy carried around a dagger-flute combination known as the Dragon Dagger. It was used as a weapon and as the summoning device for the Dragon Zord. When he later became the White Ranger, he carried around Saba, an enchanted Saber that not only fought alongside him, but that was capable of independent thought. If memory serves correct, Saba was able to fight on his own if need be, as well as help Tommy with controlling the White Tiger Zord." Kimberly paused to take a sip of water from the glass next to her.

"As our abilities progressed and changes were made to the team, we used them less and less. As far as Zords, each of us had a Dino Zord, followed by a Thunder Zord. Shortly after Rocky, Adam and Aisha joined us, our powers were destroyed, arsenal and all, and we were forced to quest for Ninja powers, which included new suits and new zords. Right before I left, the team underwent the final change in zords, upgrading to the five Shogun Zords, thanks to a Lord Zedd plan gone bad."

"That's wonderful," Barbara smiled, before looking down at her notes. When she looked back up, she gestured to the audience. "Right now, we're going to open the phone lines, and give you the viewers, and our audience, the chance to ask Kimberly some questions, and we're going to let her finally put to rest some things you always wanted to know. Our first caller is Jamie from Texas. Go ahead and ask Kimberly your question, Jamie," Barbara spoke a little louder so the caller could hear.

"Hi Kimberly."

"Hello Jamie," Kim smiled, cocking her head to the side slightly so she could hear the question as clear as possible.

"My question is, why has there never been a male Pink Ranger? I mean, there has been male Yellow Rangers, why not a Pink one?"

Kimberly cracked up laughing right along with the audience when she heard that. "Oh, wow, Jamie, to be quite honest, I don't think any of the guys could pull off the pink spandex and the skirt," Kim laughed. "Seriously though, if you notice with most Ranger teams, including ours, the Pink Rangers have seriously defined what it means to be the heart and soul of the team and most people don't equate that with men. It's really a sexist view, if you think about it, but it's very true. Whenever a Pink Ranger has been present, she's been the center, or heart of the team."

"Can you explain that in more detail, Kimberly?" Barbara asked.

Kim nodded. "What I mean by being the heart and soul of a team is that we Pink Rangers always seem to be the glue that holds the team together. Typically, the Reds are the leaders, Yellows are the calm collective ones, Blues more often than not are the thinkers or jokesters, Blacks and Greens are the quiet introspective ones, and then you have the other sixth color Rangers. They're the ones who fill the cracks, personality wise. I'm not saying this is true for every team, and at times it certainly wasn't for the teams made up by the twelve of us, but that's just a typical overview."

"Thank you, Kimberly, and thank you Jamie. Our next question comes from the audience," Barbara spoke, nodding to the young man who was standing at the back of the room with a camera and lights shining on him, and a microphone in hand. "Tell us your name and question."

"I'm Kyle from West Virginia."

"Hi Kyle," Kim greeted him, hoping to put the obviously nervous teenager at ease. "What are you dying to know?"

Kyle grinned. "I've always been drawn to the fact that the girl Rangers kicked butt, but I have to ask – why was the Pink Ranger the only one with a skirt until Zeo, if the Yellow Ranger was also a girl? And what's your opinion on that?"

Kimberly smiled and bit her bottom lip as she came up with an answer. "Well, to be honest, we weren't the first Power Rangers to use the original powers, and I think the Yellow Ranger before Trini and Aisha was a guy, so that might explain the suit. As far as my opinion on it, I honestly think that the Yellow Ranger not having a skirt until the Zeo team appeared was kinda in tune with the women who wore that suit. Both Aisha and Trini are girly, but no where near as much as Katherine or I. And Zordon created the Zeo suits specifically for the Zeo team, so I think he went with the skirt for the Yellow Ranger so it could help ease Tanya's transition into the team."

The young teenager seemed satisfied with the answer and handed the microphone back before sitting back down. "Thank you, Kyle. We're going to go back to the phone lines for our next question. Our caller is Anna from Seattle. Go ahead Anna."

"Hi Anna."

"Hi Kim!" the caller quipped. Just from the voice, everyone in the audience could tell she was at least a teenager. "My question is, obviously, you're the shortest of the Rangers, was that a curse or a blessing during your time in uniform?"

Kim frowned before she took a deep breath; she hated being asked about her height. "It was both," Kim told her. "I'm only five-foot-two, and a lot of the time, the bad guys were way taller than me. In fact, Goldar was taller than Tommy and Jason, and they were the tallest two on the team. In battle, sometimes, it presented a problem because it made me easy prey for the monster of the week or whoever we happened to be fighting. However, there were times when I was able to use it to my advantage. In those times, it allowed me to knock my opponents off stride and get the upper hand. There were numerous times when the monster we were facing thought I was an easy target, or that I wasn't worth going after, and that was usually when I proved them wrong."

"Cool! Thanks!"

"Our next caller is Alexandra from New York City. Alexandera?" Barbara announced, waiting for the caller to come on.

"Most of the battle footage I've ever seen of the Pink Ranger has been that you were often the damsel in distress. Is that true, or did you just let everyone think that?"

Kim wanted to roll her eyes but refrained. It wouldn't do any good to get mad about it, since she knew it was a valid question. "I'd like to think I can kick ass with the best of them," Kim saucily replied, causing the audience and the caller to laugh. "When we first started, I didn't have an ounce of Martial Arts training, only gymnastics and a little self defense, so I'll be the first to admit, initially, I played the damsel in distress, especially after Tommy joined the team. That changed over the course of the first year though, and was evident most, I think, right after Tommy originally lost his powers. I learned that in order for us to be an effective team, I had to carry my own weight. Each of the others had to gradually learn to let me defend myself, to let me learn, and that helped a lot too. I think the same can be said of Katherine. I really think we both learned there was more to us than being the pretty little cutesy Pink Rangers. I know Zack once said given his choice of the five of us, he'd least of all like to see me pissed off, angry, and on the war path."

Barbara nodded and turned to Kimberly, after looking at the card she held. "Speaking of fights and playing damsel in distress, how did you hide the side effects of the fights – the bruises, the extreme exhaustions, etc, from your parents? Obviously they never knew, or if they did, they never said anything."

The former Pink Ranger looked pained by that question. "Well, truthfully, my parents weren't around all that much during my Ranger days," Kimberly spoke, lifting her head to stare at Barbara. The journalist, and the camera, caught the pain etched on her face and in her eyes. "My father had just remarried and my mother was seriously dating my stepfather at the time. With my brother away at college, and me being involved in numerous school activities before I became a Ranger, they pretty much left me to my own devices. Added onto that, I'm a gymnast. If I fall just right, I could certainly duplicate a lot of the visible wounds I received as a Ranger. I like to think I was a pretty decent kid back then; I didn't get into a lot of trouble, and I had an awesome group of friends. My parents never really noticed, or if they did, they never said anything."

"Surely, they had to have said something at some time?"

Kim shook her head. "I think I can probably remember once or twice when my mother asked me why I was so tired, but because we had gotten so good at making excuses for our disappearing and keeping our identities a secret, I was able to lie pretty convincingly about it being just too much stress from school and sports and other activities."

"Does it hurt that they obviously lacked in caring about your well being?"

"Yes and no. I often wondered why they couldn't see, but I've come to accept that deep down, the power either kept them from finding out, or they saw and were in denial."

Barbara nodded. After looking down at her notes again, she looked up and had a most serious expression on her face. Kimberly fidgeted when she saw the look and instantly knew she was about to get a really hard question to answer. "What was your family's reaction to finding out you had been a Power Ranger?"

A grimace crossed Kim's face, memories of the moment her parents had shown up on her and Tommy's doorstep coming to mind. "Oh wow, you know, my parents reacted about as best as can be expected, considering, as I've said before, they really had no clue. There was a lot of yelling, a lot of accusations, and a lot of guilt laid on my shoulders," Kimberly relayed the story honestly. Two years had passed since that argument, and still there was tension between her parents and her about her having kept her identity a secret. "Neither my mother nor my father has come to grips with why I never told them. My brother yelled a lot, but he's pretty cool with the idea now."

"Why didn't you ever tell?"

"Zordon had three rules when we started; three basic rules we had to follow unless we wanted to lose the protection of the power we bore. The first one was that no matter what, we couldn't use our powers for personal gain. Second, we were never to escalate a battle unless Rita, Zedd, or whoever forced us to. The last, and most important, was that we were to keep our identities a secret; no one was to know we were Power Rangers."

Barbara looked dead serious when she asked, "Why?"

Kimberly let out a heavy sigh. "Honestly? I think Zordon was afraid that, what has happened since everyone learned who we are would happen, and we wouldn't have been able to deal with it. Not to mention, if we'd told our parents, they'd have been more of an obvious target than they already were with the baddies knowing our identities. Our parents and loved ones got pulled into quite a few adventures with us without knowing it."

"Was it hard to balance school, sports, friendships, relationships and everything else in a teenager's life with the demands made on you to save the world?" Barbara asked.

Kim let out a tiny sarcastic laugh at that. "Oh yeah. You have no idea. I went from being the most popular girl in school to, for a while, being a complete outcast. I missed more school extracurricular functions than you could shake a stick at. I ended up giving up cheerleading and dance squad, art club, and a multitude of other things in the beginning."

"But you kept your gymnastics? And made time for Gardening Club and a school play?"

"We had to pick and choose what went and what stayed. I did the school play only because both Jason and I were in it, and the fact that there were two of us made it easier," Kim spoke, hinting at her earlier comments about running off at any given moment. "Gymnastics I kept because number one, I'd been doing that since I was four, and number two, it was the best way to keep me in shape for fighting putties, monsters, and any assortment of other bad guys on an almost daily or weekly basis. As for Gardening Club, by the time that came into reality, we'd been Rangers for over a year and I was able to balance my life a little better. As my tenure went on, I got better at managing my time and finding a way to have a life outside of being a Power Ranger."

"Did your and Tommy's relationship suffer?"

Kimberly smiled fondly. "Yes and no. We didn't always get the nice alone, only the two of us time we wanted, but the fact that we were both Power Rangers made it easier. We didn't have to keep secrets, or rush off in the middle of dinner on each other. I think going into battle together the way we did, first as Green and Pink and later as White and Pink, strengthened our relationship in ways I couldn't begin to describe. It drew us closer together, but it also allowed Rita and Zedd, and later Divatox, to have a major hand against the team. If something happened to one of us, the other usually flipped out a bit."

"When we come back, we'll talk to Kimberly about the wilder rumors and we'll take more questions from the viewers at home and the studio audience."

- -

"Welcome back to _Setting The Record Straight_, I'm Barbara Walters. We're talking to original Pink Ranger, Kimberly Hart-Oliver. We're going to go to the audience again for the next question."

"I'm Michael from Oregon."

"What's your question Michael?" Kimberly asked. He was about thirty or thirty-five and looked fairly relaxed, which made Kim hope for a mature question.

Michael smiled. "Rumor has it that Hugh Hefner and Playboy has offered the five original Ranger women a deal to pose nude or semi-nude. Have you agreed? And if you haven't, what do you think about things like that?

Kimberly started laughing. "Yeah, see, Playboy would only ask me to pose if they wanted to run an article on short women!" Kim teased, causing the audience to crack up laughing. "To answer your question though, as a group, no, they haven't asked us. If the others have gotten offers, they haven't said anything to me about it. I know the boys have gotten offers from Playgirl, but again, those haven't been discussed with me, except Tommy's, and in which case, you know the answer to that."

"Our next question is from Dale in Arizona. Go ahead Dale."

"Yeah, Barbara, my question for Kimberly is has she ever had a relationship, sexual or otherwise, with any other member of the team other than her husband?"

"Dale, it was a big, fat orgy around the Command Center back in the day. We were doing it whenever and wherever," Kim sarcastically supplied, watching Barbara's eyebrows arch and several members of the audience wince. "No, I've never had any kind of relationship with any of my teammates, my husband excluded, other than friendship and a sibling like relationship. I grew up with Jason, Zack, Trini and Billy, and they are like my brothers and sister. Even though I've only known Aisha, Rocky, Adam, Kat, Tanya and Justin since high school, they're family too. I can't imagine them being anything less or anything more, than that. Saving the world gave me few options to find someone and when I did, I didn't realize it until I'd given him up. In my heart, I've always known Tommy was the one for me, it just took some growing up to finally accept it and do something about it."

Barbara nodded. "Our next question is from the audience."

The Pink Ranger straightened her shoulders and prepared for the next question.

"I'm Melissa from Detroit," a young woman from the audience announced.

"Hi Melissa," Kim tried to smile. "What's your question?"

"Katherine replaced you as Pink Ranger when you left, and according to the press also dated Tommy for a while. Knowing that, what's your relationship with her like?"

Kim grinned. "The media would like to make both Kat and I out to be moody bitches that are constantly at each other's throats, but in reality, it's not true. If I didn't love and respect Kat, I wouldn't have given her my Ninja powers, and I wouldn't have given her my place on the team when I left for Florida."

"What about her and Tommy?"

"Granted, Kat had a crush on him when she first arrived in Angela Grove, but she didn't act on it until well after I broke up with him, and even then it was only once he'd given any indication he was ready. I can't be anything but grateful to her. She's been an outstanding friend to both Tommy and I, and she helped heal a lot of the damage I inflicted on his heart."

Kimberly visibly swallowed back the start of what looked like tears. She had known questions about Tommy and Kat would be brought up, she just hadn't thought they'd hurt as much as they were. She was grateful for all Kat had done; she was just upset with herself for creating the situation she had.

Barbara got Kimberly's attention and started. "While we're on that subject, you've already admitted to writing the letter, but could you describe your frame of mind when you sent it and the after effects of that time of your life on the person you are now."

The former Pink Ranger remained quiet for several long seconds. The tears she'd been holding back when talking about Kat were now finding their way down her face. Barbara grabbed the tissues off the table next to them and held it out to Kim. The petite brunette took a couple and dabbed at her eyes.

"It's a hard subject for you, isn't it? To talk about the letter, it probably brings back memories you'd tucked away."

Kim nodded and kept her head bent. "You…uh…never realize how…how stupid something you've done is…until it's all said and done." When Kimberly looked up, her face was flushed and she had tear-stained cheeks. The tissues she'd taken were wadded up in her clenched fist. "I was a seventeen-year-old kid away from home for the first time. Like a lot of kids, I was blinded by something flashy and full of empty promises, only I didn't realize that until it was too late."

When Kim paused, she noticed how quiet the studio was. It was a little eerie for her to pour out her feelings and thoughts to a room full of strangers, not to mention the entire world. "I gave up the best thing to ever happen to me because I was dazzled by something that quickly lost its shine, and it took me almost ten years to learn my lesson and get it back."

Barbara nodded and handed Kimberly some more tissues. "How did you and Tommy finally get back together?"

At that, Kimberly gave a relieved laugh and took a shaky breath. "I moved to Reefside in 2004, to open my gymnastics academy. Unbeknownst to me, Tommy was living there and teaching at the high school, so when I invited Trini and Jason to visit, he was with them. We reconnected, even after everything that happened between us, and in 2005 we got married just before our identities as Rangers were leaked to the media."

"Are you happy with the way your life has turned out?"

"I've never been happier," Kim responded, a bright smile making her look beautiful despite the evidence of her crying jag.

Barbara smiled and nodded, and then her face turned a tad playful. "Will you tell us what your husband is like behind closed doors?"

Twinkling laughter escaped from Kimberly as she threw her head back. "Oh sure. What would you like to know?" Kim grinned, knowing her husband was backstage and most likely blushing to the roots of his hair.

"Well, for starters, is he like every other normal man, or is he different?" Barbara started.

"Tommy's as normal as normal gets, aside from the extra job in spandex he does once in a while," Kim cracked, causing the crowd to laugh. She noticed a lot of the guys in the audience looked very intent to hear what she had to say about her husband. "Seriously though, I make him take out the trash, do dishes, clean the garage, wash the Zords, scan the city for danger, reach things on high shelves I can't reach with a chair or step stool."

Barbara and the audience cracked up at Kim's description. "What about your relationship?"

Kimberly's face went serious. "I've never loved anyone the way I love him. He is my stars, my moon, my night sky all wrapped into one. I've been with other men, I've been by myself, but I've never gotten over him. No one else has ever mattered more," Kimberly sincerely told everyone. "I could have lived my life just fine on my own. I was happy, content, and successful, but just the sheer quality of my life with him is so far beyond what I ever imagined I'd have. People tell me all the time, and did even when Tommy and I were together the first time, that love at first sight isn't real."

"What's your answer when they say that?"

"That they obviously don't know diddly-squat about love," Kim fiercely spoke. "It was love at first sight for us, right from the get go. We may not have been able to recognize it as teenagers, but it was there. I've never had with anyone what I have with him, and I know why now. He's my other half, my soul mate, as cheesy and clichéd as that sounds. I can only think of one other thing that could ever make me feel remotely close to what Tommy does, and that would be to have children."

Barbara nodded and then her face schooled into a serious expression. "Everyone's I've talked to is dying to know what happened to the man you left Tommy for?"

Kim did roll her eyes then. "He recently released a c.d. of love songs titled _Heartbroken by the Pink Ranger_," Kim told everyone. The audience laughed. "I'm serious. I thought it was a joke too until yesterday when the five of us girls went into the Times Square Virgin Mega Store and saw the display. To be honest, Anthony and I only saw each other's gym image – he was a coach and I was an athlete. We were together for four years, and right after the Sydney Olympics we went our own ways. I wanted out of the limelight of gymnastics and all he wanted was a famous girlfriend and athlete to coach."

"When we come back, we'll take more questions from the audience and we'll get more in depth about the Rangers behind the helmets."

- -

"Welcome back. We're going to take the next question from our studio audience."

"I'm Miles from Florida."

"What's your question, Miles?"

"Kimberly, how do you deal with the obsession your fans and admirers seem to have with the Ranger "Couples", particularly you and your husband's relationship?"

"Wow, good question. It's kind of creepy, really. Other than Tanya and Adam, there aren't any other 'official' couples from our group, I think," Kim laughed. "As far as Tommy and I, we always got teased by the others when we first became a couple, so the attention isn't new. The fact is, in some ways, its flattering that the fans are so into our relationship, but it can be a little frightening. I mean, our every move is speculated for hidden meanings."

Barbara's expression turned mischievous. "Speaking of speculation, are you and Dr. Oliver expecting?"

Kim grinned. "See, there you go. That's one of those 'are they or aren't they' questions. I'm not going to confirm or deny that because that's a private matter, and if we do have kids, neither Tommy nor I want to subject them to the media. We both want kids, and when and if we have them, they'll be welcomed with open arms."

Barbara nodded and moved on. "Our next caller is Markita from Iowa."

"My question is, who would you like to see play you and your teammates in the up coming live action movie?"

Kim giggled. "Hmmm, let me think…." Kim started, a finger tapping her chin. "For Jason, it would have to Ben Affleck, Katherine definitely Scarlet Johansson, Trini would be Lucy Lu, Aisha's would have to be Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child, and Tanya's would be Zoë Saldana. For the other guys, I think Nick Cannon would do an unbelievable job as Zack, Chris O'Donnell as Rocky, Matt Damon could pull off Billy, and I think for Adam, it would have to be one of his favorite actors and martial artists, Phillip Rhee."

"What about you and Tommy?"

The former Pink Ranger grinned. "Believe it or not, I think Natalie Portman and Hayden Christiansen would work. We both loved them in Star Wars, they have excellent chemistry, just like Tommy and I have had since the beginning."

Barbara grinned along with the rest of the audience. "Next question from the audience."

"Hi, I'm Shawn from Nevada, I was wondering, Kim, if you could explain exactly where 'The Flipside' is?"

Kimberly bent over laughing. "Oh, wow. Believe it or not, that's a complete inside joke. I'm a gymnast, and we do flips, and I used gymnastics heavily in my Ranger days. So, obviously, flipside plus gymnastics equals joke. I'm surprised anyone remembers me saying that, to be honest."

"It became your catch phrase," Barbara noted, causing Kim to smile and nod. "Next audience question."

"Hi Kim, I'm Brianna, and I was wondering other than gymnastics, what do you do in your spare time?"

"Well, Brianna, other than gymnastics, I love to garden. Believe it or not, I've redone the entire landscaping around mine and Tommy's house. I also love to paint, so I've been working on doing some more paintings to hang around our house, or as gifts, and I've got a couple that are going to go in the entry way of Little Crane Gymnastics, which is my school. I love to sing and play guitar, so I've been working with Tanya to write some songs and do some demos in my spare time, but nothing major," Kim ticked off each of her pursuits. "Other than that, I like to curl up with a good romance novel, preferably Nora Roberts, or just hang out with my friends and my husband."

"Getting back to your gymnastics, what was it like to win medals at the Pan Global Games and then to go on to coach there and at the Olympics?" Barbara asked, shifting the attention back to Kim's former sport and current job.

"As much fun as I had winning the medals and competing, coaching is so much more satisfying to me," Kimberly passionately told her. "You've got all these athletes who are looking to you for guidance, some who will go on to be international stars and others who are just wanting to learn the sport. I find it fulfilling to teach them the lessons I learned the hard way, to watch them grow and mature. I definitely like being coach more than being the athlete."

"We've got just enough time for two more questions," Barbara announced. "First of all, you said your parents were divorced and remarried, and you've spoken of your Ranger mentor, Zordon, briefly. Did he provide the stability you lacked from your parents, and how has his death affected you?"

Kim's mouth dropped open, not having expected that question. Tears that she'd gotten control of some time before ran unchecked down her cheeks. If for nothing else, because they were for Zordon, she wouldn't wipe them away. Instead, she bore them proudly. "Oh God, I should have known you'd ask that," her voice cracked as she reached for tissues to blow her nose with. "No one but those of us who shared his confidences and received his guidance will ever know what it was like to lose him the way we did. Everyone talks about losing their loved ones in wars or in the line of duty, but no one who hasn't been in that line of duty really knows what it's like to lose someone to it." Kimberly paused to choose her words carefully. "Zordon sacrificed his life to save this planet, its inhabitants, and the entire universe, and only a handful of us knew it. He was father, mentor, confidant, but most of all, he was a friend. He gave his life to restore the balance that was so far out of whack that there was no other way to restore it but for him to die. I miss him, every day. I miss his guidance, his wisdom, his support. I miss him with every beat of my heart and with every breath I take."

"Is he a part of the bond that is shared between the twelve of you?"

"Zordon's the reason there's a bond between the twelve of us," Kim smiled through her tears. "He was the reason we were able to come together, to fight the way we did, to keep going, day after day. He believed in each of us, believed in the individuals we were and that he knew we'd become, but he also believed in the goodness that prevailed in our spirits, and in the team he knew we could and would be, the team we were. He knew that when he started with five teenagers, he'd have the best people imaginable to defend Earth. I'm not saying we were always one hundred percent goody-two-shoes, but we were trustworthy and honest and we fought hard."

"Thank you, Kimberly, for joining us tonight."

"It was my pleasure. I hope I answered some of those questions well enough."

"You did. That's all we have time for this time. Please join me next time when we interview Kimberly's other half, Dr. Tommy Oliver. Thank you for joining us tonight, I'm Barbara Walters."


	3. Interview 2: Dr Tommy Oliver

**The Title: "Setting The Record Straight"  
Interview 2 of 12**

**Written By:** The 61 Minutes News Team (Pink-Green-White-4ever and Shawn30)

**Summary:** With two years of false news reports, lies written in many articles, privacy-invading prime time exposes, and unofficial books written about them and their former lives as Power Rangers the original twelve decide to finally set the record straight in a series of one-on-one interviews with Barbara Walters.

**Timeline:** Early 2007. Power Rangers Dino Thunder took place, although Tommy and Kim reunited during it. All will be explained in their own words. EVERYTHING else is canon, but keep in mind the Rangers are adults now and we're writing this as if the events in the PR universe happened in real life.

**Rating:** R for no holds barred adult language.  
**Couples:** Outside of Tommy and Kim just keep your eyes open evil grin

**Authors Notes 1**. In early 2005 secret Government files were accidentally opened to the public revealing the names of the first twelve Power Rangers. The C.I.A were covertly keeping tabs on everything that took place in Angel Grove during the Rangers tour of duty and discovered over the years the identities of the Power Rangers. They never learned all the details of what happened behind the scenes with Zordon or the various enemies they fought, but enough intelligence was gathered that names and addresses were discovered. Upon being outed to the public, the former Rangers anonymous lives were over as they became instant, overnight celebrities.

But the lights of stardom tend to fade and after while their privacy was being invaded from all sides. Former friends and family members began writing books and giving interviews for money. News crews hounded their residences. Paparazzi hounded them everywhere they went, as well as their work places. Nighttime news programs ran intense exposé on their lives, loves, and pieced-together history as Power Rangers. Outright Lies, crazy assumptions, and rude invasions of privacy have led the former Rangers to finally break their silence and tell their story in their own words.

As is posted on the ABC:The profile of Barbara Walters, she has arguably interviewed more statesmen, Presidents, and stars than any other journalist in history. She is so well known that her name and a brief biography is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary. And when the former Ranger's new publicist contacted her to conduct the interviews she jumped at the chance to bring the story of Earth's greatest heroes to the world in their own words, while humanizing the larger than life warriors that risked their lives to protect the world for so many years.

Choosing a small, intimate studio audience while allowing call-in questions to be taken live on the air, the former Power Rangers will at last tell their story, answer Barbara's pointed questions as well as your own concerning their professional and private lives. Expect the unexpected as this prime time interview series will air on HBO instead of network television.

**Authors Notes 2:** Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver opens the new groundbreaking series, followed by her husband Dr. Tommy Oliver, Jason Lee Scott and Trini Kwan. The next series will involve Dr. Billy Cranston, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard, and Aisha Campbell. The last series gives us Tanya Sloan, Rocky Desantos, Zackary Taylor and Justin Stewart. Concluding things will be a huge round table discussion with all of the Rangers present.

**Authors Notes 3**. Rita Repulsa first attacked the Earth on August 28, 1993. That's twelve and a half years ago. Our walk down memory lane begins now...

* * *

"Good evening. I'm Barbara Walters and this is the second in our _Setting the Record Straight_ series of interviews with the original twelve Power Rangers. Last week our stage was graced with the wonderful presence of the first Pink Ranger, Mrs. Kimberly Anne Hart-Oliver. Tonight we are pleased to showcase her husband." Audience applause begins to build with wild cheers and clapping from the mostly female crowd tonight. "From day one he captured the undivided attention of the world. The fearsome menace turned hero who became the winds of change that would define the Rangers for years to come. First he was the Green Ranger. Then he became the leader of the team as the White Ranger. Then Red and finally Black before retiring two and a half years ago. Let's take a look back at the evolution of the man who some consider to be the greatest Power Ranger who has ever lived."

(The rock band Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger' song plays as a video montage of footage is shown amidst gasps and loud applause. The White Ranger is shown battling a battalion of Putties with Saba in hand. The Green Ranger is seen leaping through the air on top of the Dragon Zord's head while deflecting laser fire blasts mid-jump. The Red Zeo Ranger's being attacked in downtown Angel Grove, escaping a creatures fireballs by executing gravity-defying hurdles and jumps over and around anything in his path. The Red Turbo Ranger's racing his Zord over 150 miles per hour off an exploding bridge. The Black Dino Ranger's facing off against a small army of monsters who he fights off simultaneously.)

The greatly enthusiastic audience roar their encouragement. Barbara continued, "We know of his grand exploits as a Ranger, but not of the man behind the Power. The man who he became when he wasn't helping to protect the world was able to become a world renowned martial artist while at the same time earning his doctorate degree in Paleontology." The audience seemed genuinely surprised by the latter of his accomplishments. "Now working as the principle of Reefside High School as well as co-owner of his own martial arts academy, please give a warm welcome to the one, the only, Tommy Oliver."

Uproarious clapping ensued when Tommy walked across the stage, waving at the energetic studio audience before sharing a warm hug with Barbara. He took the chair across from her, hands in his lap while looking out over the cheering audience. While not particularly comfortable with the spotlight, his smiling expression revealed a bit of his bashful side as audience continued their ovation.

"Welcome, Tommy."

"Thank you, Ms. Walters."

"Barbara, please," she insisted. Her guest gave a polite nod to which she returned. "To say you've lived one heck of a life seems to be the understatement of the century."

"Sometimes I think I've lived a charmed life. It seems my nine lives haven't run out just yet."

Barbara took a quick glance at her notes before continuing. "Its been said that you never knew your birth parents. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Tommy answered. "I was placed up for adoption soon after I was born. I've never really looked into it much as I was blessed with such great adoptive parents that I think of them as my real parents."

"Did being adopted affect your life leading up to your move to Angel Grove?"

Thoughtfully considering that for a moment, Tommy reminisced over the solemn days of his youth. "Not really. Like I said, I had great parents. But I've always been a bit of a loner, and my dad's job shuffled him around the country quite a few times when I was growing up. I never stayed anywhere long enough to develop really good friends and I think that's what made it so hard for me to get close to people and truly let them in. I was always afraid I'd have to leave them behind so I didn't try to get close to anyone. I could find a place to train in the martial arts anywhere, so I clung to that more than anything or anyone else."

"Then lo and behold, your very first day in Angel Grove," Barbara gently led him towards the beginning of his legendary career. "Tell us about that?"

Tommy relaxed back in his chair as he began his tale. "I had heard about Angel Grove from my dad long before we moved there, and when he brought home one of the newspapers from a trip there two weeks before we moved I saw an add for the Angel Grove Karate Tournament. I was interested in competing at that time and I figured at the very least I'd meet some people who were into the martial arts as heavily as I was. My dad told me we'd be living in Angel Grove through my high school years so I just sucked it up and decided to try and make some friends."

"How did that go?"

"Well, I made it through the tournament to the finals where I met and fought against my future best friend, Jason. The match ended in a draw, but I had heard where he worked out at. Again, I was the new kid in town and all I was really into was the martial arts so I wanted to be where other people my age were doing that." A wistful smile later, "The next day my life changed forever."

Ever mindful of the audiences acute interest in her guest, Barbara dove right into the question everyones wanted to know. "You became a Ranger?"

"I met Kim," he side-stepped for a moment, smiling as the audience 'awwwed' their approval.

"So it was love at first sight?" Barbara watched a play of emotions fall over his handsome features. He seemed embarrassed on the hot seat, pausing before he spoke again.

"As mature as I was at the time, yeah, I loved her instantly." He lifted his hands before the audiences clapping began in earnest. "I was sixteen, okay. Let's not turn Kim and I into some sort of fairy tale romance. Trust me, we weren't."

"And we will get back to your romance with your wife later on," Barbara gently warned her suddenly blushing guest. "But for now I have to ask the question I'm sure is on everyones mind. We all remember the footage of the Green Ranger assaulting the other Rangers and attacking Angel Grove." Tommy seemed to pale slightly at the mention of his dark past. "The world to that point had never seen an evil Ranger as it was just getting used to seeing beings with such unimaginable powers and weapons at their disposal. The anxiety over the Green Ranger's appearance was all the networks talked about for days."

"I vaguely remember those days, Barbara. The early Green Ranger days."

"How did you become a Ranger?"

Tommy sighed. "I was attacked after school in an alley by a group of Putties. They were soldiers of sorts working for Rita Repulsa. I fought them off, but was taken against my will to Rita's moon fortress and placed under a magical spell. I became her possession."

"Were you tortured?"

"Mentally, yes," he acknowledged in a somber tone. "I couldn't focus my mind on my own thoughts and feelings. All I could hear were Rita's orders. I wasn't in control of my actions. I was a pawn she used in her bid to destroy the Power Rangers and take over the world. If I died in the process she wouldn't have cared one bit. But the Rangers did."

"What happened next?"

"I was given a weapon called the Sword of Darkness. When Jason was trapped in a place called the Dark Dimension with me and I was about to kill him." Tommy shook his head, his voice trailing off. "He was saved before I could do it."

"Would you have?"

"Yes," he hated to admit. "At that time I had no self-control."

"So how did the Rangers save you?"

"Under Rita's spell I became so arrogant and over confident that I initiated a one-on-one fight with the Red Ranger. While I'm trying to kill him, Jason is trying to find a way to save me. I owe him my life that day. Its as simple as that. He was able to destroy the Sword of Darkness which broke Rita's spell over me. From that day forward I was offered a place on the team and became a full fledged Ranger."

Cheering applause erupted when he finished. Barbara smiled warmly, touching his hand in support after watching how tough it was to relive that bit of his past. "Okay, Tommy. Its time to put you on the spot with some call-in questions."

Taking a deep breath, Tommy prepared himself. "I'm ready."

"Our first caller is Jane from Arizona."

"Hi Tommy," came a chipper voice over the intercom.

"Hello, Jane. How are you this evening?"

"Well, I'm just okay seeing as how you aren't single." She laughed with the audience as Tommy braced himself. "I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Spandex. Pro or Con?"

Tommy hated it whenever he lost a bet with Rocky. He had been told to expect this question. Barbara and the audience seemed so amused by it. "Con in every single way possible. It just looks terrible on guys and offers you no modesty at all."

"Like when you got a boner?"

Even Barbara chuckled at that one. Tommy just covered his eyes, smiling. "Yes, and thank you for adding that."

"Bye, Tommy. Thanks for answering."

"Thanks, Jane." Barbara nodded to her assistant to cue the next caller in. "William from Nebraska."

"Hey Tommy."

Carrying a burly sort of voice, Tommy hoped a guy wouldn't ask anything about a boner. His students were going to have a field day with this interview as it was. "Nice to meet you, William."

"My questions are how long have you been involved in the martial arts, what belt do you own and what do you teach?"

"I've been training in the martial arts ever since I was four years old taking junior classes. I'm currently a sixth degree black belt and I teach at my school an American style of martial arts called Toso Kune Do meaning the way of the fighting fist. It's a blend of Shotokan Karate, Wado Ryu Karate, Judo, Thai Boxing, American Boxing, Kobudo, Jeet Kune Do, Aikido, and Savate."

"Wow," came the guys' very impressed response. "Thanks, Tommy."

"We have time for one more caller before we take our first commercial break," Barbara announced. "Who's next?"

"Hi, Tommy. I'm Janet from New York."

"Hello, Janet," Tommy replied to the middle-aged sounding caller. "What can I answer for you?"

"How do you respond to criticism that the Ranger's presence on Earth has killed as many people as you've saved? Its been reported that some enemies attacked the Earth simply because Rangers were there."

Sitting up straight, Tommy took that question head-on. "With all due respect to those who feel that way, especially those who lost loved ones during attacks, its just not true. None of the Ranger's enemies attacked the Earth simply because of Zordon's presence. Our mentor had been on Earth for well over a hundred years watching over the planet because Rita Repulsa's prison capsule was on the moon. When Rita was accidentally released from that prison she had no idea Zordon was on Earth. She wanted to conquer it no matter who was there. So without Zordon and the Ranger's Earth would have been destroyed or conquered a long ago. Our presence has always been to protect and serve the people of Earth. There was no salary for what we did. No one paid our college tuitions or rents or paid any bills for us. What we did we did selflessly and because it was the right thing to do. So to answer your question I feel that only now when we can finally present our case and all of the details the public has never known before can I combat criticism as it stems from a lack of knowledge."

"Thank you for such an eloquent answer, Tommy."

"You're welcome." The audience clapped again as Tommy felt relived that he made it to the first commercial break.

"We'll be back shortly with Tommy Oliver and more of his amazing life. Stay tuned."

* * *

"Welcome back to Setting the Record straight. I'm Barbra Walters and my guest this evening is none other than the Power Ranger who changed outfits more than Paris Hilton, Tommy Oliver." Her cute dig was taken well by her guest. The audience enjoyed a brief montage of the various uniforms Tommy wore over the years. He cringed but took it all in stride. "Getting back to the questions. If you could go back and do it all over again would you, and what would you do differently?"

Rubbing his chin, Tommy pondered that question for a careful moment. "As far as my career as a Ranger was concerned I wouldn't change a thing. Those were some of the most exciting and deeply fulfilling years of my life. You have to understand that there was no road map or guide to lead us through the decisions we made or how we lived with them. All of us made mistakes. All of us lost a great deal of our innocence. But I think what we all learned was that we had to keep moving forward when bad things happened to us and deal with the consequences of our actions. So to that end I wouldn't change a thing. Now that's not to say there aren't things I wished didn't happen. Only that I can live with the choices I made."

"What about your personal life?"

"I think we all have regrets, Barbara. In that regard I do wish I'd handled some things differently."

"Anything you care to share?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"Fair enough," Barbara politely backed off, to which she could tell her guest appreciated. "I think its time to let our studio audience in on things. We have a stand and a mike set up in the aisle. Kayla from New Jersey, welcome."

"Thank you, Barbara. Hi Tommy," the petite blond waved a bit nervously.

"Nice to meet you, Kayla. Ask away."

"How do you handle the autograph seekers, fangirls, and Internet websites devoted not only to you, but to you and your wife as a couple? Especially after finishing second in People Magazine's Couple of the Year awards behind Brangelina?"

"Carefully," Tommy replied in a mildly amused tone. "I never turn down people who want autographs as long as I have time to do them. If people come up to me and want to shake my hand or take a picture and say they're proud of me I respect that. I don't mind little kids who think I'm cool for having been a Power Ranger. I'll always make time for stuff like that."

Tommy continued, "Now the fangirls are a bit different." Peering out over the audience, he could tell more than a couple were in fact, fangirls. A few were holding signs. "I'm a really quiet sort of guy, you know. Jason and I are best friends and all, but I'm allot more like Adam personality wise. I'm not really comfortable being some sort of sex-symbol or poster boy or anything like that. I don't mind the admiration as long as my wife is respected. But some people take it too far with the... the," he stuttered a bit.

"More provocative online fan creations?" Kayla alluded too while grinnng at her crush's obvious embarrassment.

"The Tommy and Kim wallpapers are fine. Some of them are really well done. Kim even has one as her desktop wallpaper," he laughed with the audience over that bit of information. "But the... uhm... erotic photo manipulations and the NC-17 fanfiction stories are just..."

"Hot!" Kayla all but shouted as the audience burst out in laughter.

"Different," Tommy answered behind a smirk, slightly blushing. "Having people you don't know writing long sex scenes between you and your wife is a bit strange. And some of it is really good, but what kind of person writes ten to twenty page sex scenes involving the Power Rangers?"

Kayla caught his minor admission. "So you read Tommy/Kim erotic fanfiction?"

Tommy's eyes went as wide as saucers, then ducked his head when the audience 'ohhhhhed'. "I... I might have stumbled over one or twenty," he laughed along with the audience. "You can't help but to be curious when someone is writing about you. And some of that fanfiction has me engaging in sexual activity with just about everyone on the team, including the guys. I never knew what the word 'slash' meant until I discovered fanfiction," he shook his head while Barbara looked on. "I'm not against creative expression. I just ask everyone to respect that we are all real people with feelings and families and a right to our privacy. As long as that's respected I'm cool."

"Thanks, Tommy." Kayla waved again before stepping off the podium.

Barbara motioned for the next person in line to step up to the microphone. "Ben from the Bronx. Welcome to Setting the Record Straight."

Offering a nod to the esteemed host, Ben addressed Tommy. "Did you ever hate the Space Rangers for not being able to save Zordon?"

Observing a short time to deal with the emotional impact that question leveled him with, Tommy drew his emotions together. "I never hated them and neither did any of the other Rangers I served with. People need to understand that the statement released by the Space Rangers after Zordon died was accurate. Zordon gave his life's energies to destroy the evil that was threatening the galaxy. The Space Ranger's leader Andros found Zordon alive and could have gotten him off the Dark Fortress. Zordon knew they had no time left so he made his sacrifice. The Space Rangers succeeded in upholding the legacy of the Rangers by risking their lives in the defense of the galaxy. Zordon gave his life for that mandate."

"But do you wish you were there? Do the other Rangers ever talk about if they had gone after Zordon themselves the outcome would have been different?"

With respect to the Space Rangers, Tommy wanted to make himself perfectly clear. "We as a group try not to second-guess any of the Ranger teams after ours as we appreciate those before us not criticizing us. As successful as the original twelve Ranger's run was hundreds of people still died under our watch. Zordon taught us that every life is precious and equal. He never placed himself above anyone else. So to that end while we are still absolutely heartbroken over Zordon's death we do not blame the Space Rangers for his sacrifice."

Ben seemed to grasp where Tommy was coming from. "Thanks, Tommy."

"You're welcome."

"Tommy," Barbara drew his attention. "Lets stay on that theme for a little while longer. Considering that you were all just teenagers at the time, could you tell us how you and the other Ranger's dealt with the the loss of life associated with the Ranger battles?"

"I can only speak for myself, but Zordon was the founder and mentor of the Power Ranger's for over two hundred years and he understood the perspective we all had to keep in relation to the job we had do. We were told to enjoy life, plan for our futures and be good people. But we were also made aware of the tragedies that every single Ranger team since its creation have endured. People die in life, sad as that statement sounds. We can't save everyone. Its a fact. We all will die someday and those who are charged to serve and protect can only give their very best. Well I promise you all of us gave our very best to protect and save as many lives as we possibly could."

"But I know it wasn't that easy all of the time?"

"Of course not. We were all affected in one way or another. And of course there were certain times where people died and we really had a hard time getting past it. But we didn't have time to dwell over stuff like that because we all had to get up the next morning, paint on our happy teenager faces for our parents and get through the school day." Something of a wistful expression fell over him. "Its a wonder we weren't all popping Prozac like Tic-Tacs."

"Indeed," Barbra smiled as the audience enjoyed the light break in the mood. "I think its time for a couple of callers who have patiently waited for their turn. Janine from Georgia, are you there?"

"I'm here, Barbara. Hello."

"Hi to you too."

Janine seemed very excited. "Hi Tommy."

"Hi, Janine. What can I answer for you?"

"Have you ever had sex in a Zord?"

Shaking his head, Tommy expected a couple of questions like that one. "No, I've never had sex in a Zord. Honestly, the only one with enough room was my old Tiger Zord. The Falcon Zord had no room. My Turbo Zord car didn't even have a backseat. And my Dragon Zord," he laughed, "It didn't even have a compartment for me to be inside of." The auduience laughed as footage was shown of the Green Rangers controlling the Dragon Zord from various building rooftops.

"Thanks, Tommy."

Barbara's assistant gave her the sign that the next caller was ready. "Sandra from Chicago. Welcome to the show."

"Thanks Barbara. Hi Tommy."

Hearing the young woman and what sounded like a couple of her giggling friends in the background, Tommy yet again braced himself for the worst. "Good evening, Sandra."

"Uhm, me and my friends were wondering about the Yahoo News report that Playgirl Magazine has offered you a half a million dollars to pose nude? Can you confirm or deny that? And we are praying that you confirm and do it." Her friends started cracking up in the background, as did the mostly female audience.

Tommy took a slow, deep breath, grinning wildly, and then calmly pulled a folded sheet of paper from his back pocket. "My wife has written a response for me just in case that question was asked." Opening the paper, he began to read it. "To whom it may concern, my name is Kimberly Oliver and I am the wife, lover, and owner of Tommy Oliver. Two weeks ago Playgirl magazine contacted the Ranger's publicist concerning a layout proposal for my husband. When I first saw it I thought it was Rocky playing a practical joke on him again using photoshop. He almost made Jason think he won a million dollars from Publishers Clearing House once. Anyway, we made some phone calls and found out the offer was real. I have the unsigned contract framed above my desk in my office. Let me tell you all right now that my husband will never, ever pose naked in any magazine and if any nude pictures of him exists I took them and have them in a very safe, secure location. Sorry girls. You can admire the face but everything else is mine."

Disappointed moans mixed with chuckles and teases of a whipping sound came from the audience. Even Barbara seemed to stifle her laughter in order to remain professional. Tommy simply refolded the note and stuck it back in his pocket.

"On that most interesting note, pun intended, we'll take our second and last commercial break before getting into Tommy's personal life." He blanched, which only told her there was far more fun to be had. "Stay tuned. We'll be right back."

* * *

"Welcome back," Barbara greeted the viewing audience worldwide, being broadcast in HD. "We're going to begin our last segment with some call-in questions. I believe we have Sheila from Michigan on the line. Good evening, Sheila."

"Good evening to you too, Barbara," came a calm, even toned voice. "Tommy, its a pleasure."

Having survived two thirds of the interview thus far, the former White Ranger finally relaxed. "Its a pleasure to meet you too, Sheila. What can I answer for you?"

"I can only imagine how tired you are of questions concerning your personal life, but I hope you're patient with those of us that find your relationship with your wife so fascinating. So, my question is this. After your break-up with Kim, describe the years between then and when you reunited?"

Tommy sat up straight and cleared his throat. "Well at that time I was still the leader of the Zeo Rangers and was finishing my senior year in high school. When Zordon gave us the Turbo powers my interest in racing began to grow and my uncle already had a team of drivers he was trying to turn pro. After Zordon retired myself, Tanya, Adam, and Katherine I began training at the race track heavily. I raced professionally for about two years until the end of 1999. I was moderately good compared to the full-timers and the money was great. During that time my relationship with Katherine evolved into a dear friendship as we mutually parted ways. That was when I realized that I just didn't want to race professionally for the rest of my life. My heart wasn't in it and I had to make some real life decisions because I just wasn't educated enough with only a high school diploma."

"I had always been interested in paleontology and when I first became a Ranger we were using the Dino Zords. Zordon had records of the prehistoric era and dinosaur bones and all sorts of ancient artifacts that very few people knew I used to comb through from time to time. Now up to that point in my life all of the challenges I faced had been physical in some nature. Being a Ranger, my martial arts training, and racing were all similar in that while they required me to think they never truly challenged my mind the way going to college would. I was looking for something new in my life so I decided to bite the bullet and go to college. I earned a PH.D in museum studies along with my bachelors degree to become a professional, practicing paleontologist."

Sheila just had to ask, "What about your personal life? Any steamy skeletons in your closet?"

Ever mindful of the publics greed for gossip, especially with the audience appearing as if they were on the edge of their seats, Tommy answered straightforward. "I dated and went to parties and all that. Not allot mind you, but I lived a single guys life. I didn't have time for any real relationships during college as I had it pretty rough the first year. School and studying never came as easy to me as it did Trini or Billy. I really had to work hard at it."

Sheila asked, "And then came the Dino Thunder Rangers?"

"Well, before that came a tough mission involving all the former Red Rangers up to that point, minus Rocky," Tommy explained. "We fought some bad guys, did some cool poses and saved the world. Typical Ranger stuff," he smiled as the audience gave a few laughs. "All in all up until I saw Kimberly again I did a ton of maturing as a person. I got a lot of real life experience outside of the Ranger lifestyle I had lived for so many years."

"Thanks Tommy."

"You're welcome."

Barbara decided to change gears for a moment. "Tommy, share with us if you will the funniest thing that's ever happened to you or that you saw as a Power Ranger?"

"Oh God, let me think," Tommy chuckled while grazing his chin in retrospection. "You have to understand that while Rita and Zedd were evil, they were mildly retarded as well." The audience began cracking up over that one. "They turned turtles into huge monsters. They used statues and pigs and even a flower monster against us. They used a Putty that had the power to impersonate us to make trouble for us at school. What kind of villain cares about his enemies reputations in high school?"

"It seems Rita Repulsa had allot of headaches."

"Drinking will do that to you," Tommy joked. "I saw a ridiculous thirty-foot tall purse-monster, Barbara. I've seen a lipstick monster, fish-monsters, bee-monsters, a pumpkin monster that rapped, an oyster-monster, a beetle-monster, and every sort of creature that you could imagine was created from anything just lying around. I even fought a monster made out of one of my art projects. Rita wasn't picky and Zedd was no better. But the absolute funniest thing to ever happen was this one time the teleportation system malfunctioned. It was me, Kim, Rocky, Aisha, Adam and Billy at the Youth Center where we all hung out every day after school. My communicator went off. Zordon wanted us at the Command Center so we could do some Zord training. When we teleported there we were all in our underwear."

"Oh my God!" Barbara gasped.

"Exactly. We were shocked and shouting and it was just madness. But after our clothes were teleported back on us we laughed about it for the rest of the day. It was a crazy moment for sure."

"Thank you for sharing your own version of a clothes malfunction," Barbara teased. "If Janet Jackson is watching somewhere I'm sure she's sympathetic."

"Probably so," Tommy laughed.

"I want to play a little word association with you if that's okay?"

"Not a problem."

"Zordon?"

Tommy spoke without hesitation. "The founding mentor of the Power Rangers who believed in a rag tag group of kids when we didn't always believe in ourselves. He was the most honorable person I have ever met. He left an impact on my life that won't ever fade. He was an amazing leader, teacher, and a very dear friend. I miss him. I always will."

"Katherine?"

"She's an amazing woman who possesses such a wonderful, loving spirit. She's a truly genuine person and I am so lucky to be able to call her a dear, close friend. She also makes great nachos, which you wouldn't expect from an Australian," he laughed at the end. The audience did as well.

"Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier?"

Tommy scratched his head over that one. "If you would have ever told me he would become a highly acclaimed, award winning romance novelist I would have said you need to be in a straight jacket. But seriously, though he's a bit rough around the edges he's a good guy deep down. I've actually gotten a chance to get to really know him in recent years. We invited him and his best friend Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch to a Ranger backyard get-together we had last summer. We told old stories and had a blast."

"Police Chief Skullovitch of Stone Canyon?"

"Yes. We knew him too way back in the day."

"You're getting old, Mr.Oliver."

"So my wife tells me."

"Speaking of your wife, she's our final name in the association game." Barbara laid her notes down. "Kim?"

A pleasant hush fell over the studio as all eyes fell on Tommy. He expected as much. No matter the battles, sacrifices made. colorful outfits, or massive robots people were still and always more interested in your personal life. It wasn't old stock photos of the Power Ranger's that made the cover of People Magazine, Time, or the Washington Post. It was candids of the former Rangers out of uniform that the world truly became captivate with.

And so while taking a deep, calming breath he attempted to convey what his wife meant to him, as if mere words would ever be adequate. "Kim is my Beautiful," he began wearing a shy sort of smile that revealed how open he was trying to be. "She is the joy in my life. We connect in a way that doesn't even make sense to us sometimes. She knows me and she loves me as imperfect as I am. As much as I loved her as a teenager it doesn't compare to how deeply in love with her I am today." His dear smile said it all. "She's feisty and bold. She likes to get her way, but she's so compassionate and sweet. She's strong, courageous and as capable a person as I have ever met. She is as imperfect as I am and I love everything about her. I even love that she's short, which I know she hates."

"I'm whole when I am with her," Tommy explained as his emotions threatened to overwhelm him, He paused a moment to regain himself. "People like to over-romanticize us as some fairy tale couple or some romance novel type of love. We are just two very regular people at the end of the day. She grounds me. She fulfills. She's my heart and soul. She's irreplaceable."

"Tommy?"

"Yes?"

"That was beautiful."

"No, my wife is. That was just me being honest."

Reaching across to him, Barbara squeezed Tommy's hand, having known how nervous he was about the interview in the green room. "We're finished. You made it through just fine."

"Barely," he whispered, grinning.

Barbara addressed the audience once more. "That concludes our interview for the evening. We'd like to thank Mr. Oliver for his time and candor." The audience rose to their feet, clapping and cheering as Tommy waved to them. "Join us next week on Setting the Record Straight as we talk to the first leader of the Power Rangers and a man who's devoted so much of his life to helping the less fortunate all around the world, Mr. Jason Lee Scott. Goodnight everyone."

* * *

Next up: Jason Lee Scott 


	4. Interview 3: Jason Lee Scott

**"Setting The Record Straight"  
Interview 3 of 12**

**Written By:** The 61 Minutes News Team (Pink-Green-White-4ever and Shawn30)

**Summary:** With two years of false news reports, lies written in many articles, privacy-invading prime time exposes, and unofficial books written about them and their former lives as Power Rangers the original twelve decide to finally set the record straight in a series of one-on-one interviews with Barbara Walters.

**Timeline:** Early 2007. Power Rangers Dino Thunder took place, although Tommy and Kim reunited during it. All will be explained in their own words. EVERYTHING else is canon, but keep in mind the Rangers are adults now and we're writing this as if the events in the PR universe happened in real life.

**Rating:** R for no holds barred adult language.  
**Couples:** Outside of Tommy and Kim just keep your eyes open evil grin

**Email:** see our profile

**Notes 1.** In early 2005 secret Government files were accidentally opened to the public revealing the names of the first twelve Power Rangers. The C.I.A were covertly keeping tabs on everything that took place in Angel Grove during the Rangers tour of duty and discovered over the years the identities of the Power Rangers. They never learned all the details of what happened behind the scenes with Zordon or the various enemies they fought, but enough intelligence was gathered that names and addresses were discovered. Upon being ousted to the public, the former Rangers anonymous lives were over as they became instant, overnight celebrities.

But the lights of stardom tend to fade and after while their privacy was being invaded from all sides. Former friends and family members began writing books and giving interviews for money. News crews hounded their residences. Paparazzi hounded them everywhere they went, as well as their work places. Nighttime news programs ran intense exposé on their lives, loves, and pieced-together history as Power Rangers. Outright Lies, crazy assumptions, and rude invasions of  
privacy have led the former Rangers to finally break their silence and tell their story in their own words.

As is posted on the ABC: The profile of Barbara Walters, she has arguably interviewed more statesmen, Presidents, and stars than any other journalist in history. She is so well known that her name and a brief biography is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary. And when the former Ranger's new publicist contacted her to conduct the interviews she jumped at the chance to bring the story of Earth's greatest heroes to the world in their own words, while humanizing the larger than life warriors that risked their lives to protect the world for so many years.

Choosing a small, intimate studio audience while allowing call-in questions to be taken live on the air, the former Power Rangers will at last tell their story, answer Barbara's pointed questions as well as your own concerning their professional and private lives. Expect the unexpected as this prime time interview series will air on HBO instead of network television.

**Authors Notes 2:** Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver opens the new groundbreaking series, followed by her husband Dr. Tommy Oliver, Jason Lee Scott and Trini Kwan. The next series will involve Dr. Billy Cranston, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard, and Aisha Campbell. The last series gives us Tanya Sloan, Rocky DeSantos, Zackary Taylor and Justin Stewart. Concluding things will be a huge round table discussion with all of the Rangers present.

**Authors Notes 3.** Rita Repulsa first attacked the Earth on August 28, 1993. That's twelve and a half years ago. Our walk down memory lane begins now...

--

"I'm Barbara Walters, and I'd like to welcome you to the third installment of _Setting The Record Straight_, our in-depth look into the lives of the original twelve Power Rangers of Earth." The audience applauded before a series of clips began to play on the television screens. The Morphin Rangers, led by the Red Ranger, fighting against Goldar on the beach. The Zeo Rangers, with the Gold Ranger backing them up, fighting against the Machine Empire.

"So many wonderful elements make up the sum of the man who is my guest tonight. He's a mentor to youths, an ambassador for the martial arts and the self-esteem and dedication they can bring to ones life. He's traveled the world championing the causes of the less fortunate, as well as served as a Ranger twice over. His courage is only matched by his compassion and strength of character."

The Red Ranger fighting Goldar one on one flashed across the television screen. Jason at a martial arts expo at the Youth Center followed. The Tyrannosaurs Dino Zord taking on one of Rita's freaky monsters melded into Jason participating in a meeting at the Geneva Peace Conference, which was followed by the Gold Ranger doing some damage to one of Mondo's creations while Pyramidas loomed in the distance.

"He's the first in a long line of men to have led their teams to continuous victory wearing the familiar red armor of the Red Ranger. When he was given the choice to save the world in a different way, he handed his mantle to a friend and left to join the Geneva Peace Conference. Shortly after, he rejoined the Rangers, taking on the mantle of the elusive Gold Ranger, but was forced to leave after unknown circumstances. The years in between are a mystery, just like the man behind the helmet is a mystery. Who is that man behind the familiar red helmet? What makes him tick? What are the events that have shaped his life? Tonight, we're going to find out. Help me welcome to our stage, Jason Lee Scott."

The crowd roared to life as Jason appeared from backstage. The women swooned when they saw the black jean and red muscle shirt clad Jason, while the guys cheered on the original Red Ranger. Jason kissed Barbara on the cheek before the pair sat down in front of the audience.

"Welcome Jason."

"Thank you, Ms. Walters."

"Please, just Barbara," she smiled at him. "Now, Jason, you've watched Tommy and Kimberly's interviews haven't you?"

Jason grinned and nodded. "Oh yeah. The rest of the team was gathered at Billy's house in California. We cracked up laughing at some of the questions they got asked, and you guys," Jason gestured to the audience, both in studio and on camera, "won Rocky twenty bucks from Tommy with the Spandex question."

The audience broke into peals of laughter when Jason wiggled his eyebrows. "Alright Jason, are you ready?" Barbara asked.

The former Red and Gold Ranger nodded even though he looked slightly nervous. "Our first question is from a member of the studio audience."

Jason turned and saw a young man about fifteen years old, standing with the microphone about half way back in the audience. "Hi Jason, my name is Gavin and I wanted to know what kinds of Martial Arts you study?"

"Well Gavin, I've studied thirteen forms of martial arts since I was five, but the main four that I use are Tae Kwon Do, Shenkito, Judo and Kempo. Added to that, Trini and Adam have tried to teach me Kung-Fu, but I've never had enough patience for it and Zack's forever trying to teach me Hip Hop Kido, which is his very own mix of Hop Kido and funky dance moves. I like it, but I have no rhythm so it's been pretty slow going over the years," Jason grinned.

"I'm sure you have plenty of rhythm in other areas!" one woman in the audience called out, causing Jason to flush and chuckle.

Barbara covered her mouth, hoping to disguise her own amusement. "Speaking of teammates," she started, drawing Jason's attention back to her. "Can you tell us how your and the other original team members met?"

"Wow, I haven't told that story in a long time," Jason laughed. "Kim's probably going to want to strangle me, but oh well." Barbara raised an eyebrow as Jason prepared himself to tell the story. "Kim and I have known each other since we were in diapers."

The audience laughed when a family picture of Kim, Jason and their mothers flashed onto the screen. The two kids were covered head to toe in mud and other weird things, both wearing nothing but diapers, and were grinning at each other. "During preschool, we met Billy; it was before he was a super genius, so he was in our class. The following year, Billy and Kim met Trini, who was in their kindergarten class, and I met Zack in Martial Arts class. It wasn't until two years later that we started hanging out together as a group. Zack ended up saving Billy from the school bully and Trini kicked my butt in Marital Arts class, and then we all met up at Kim's birthday party that year."

Pictures from various stages of their friendship flashed across the screens – the gang in the park playing Frisbee, Billy trying to teach Kim to fly a kite, Billy and Kim cheering Jason, Zack and Trini on at a competition. Several shots of them dressed for Halloween flashed, along with a few from various birthday parties. The last one was of the five together, with Billy and Kim in the middle holding up gold medals with gymnasts on them. The group couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve.

"You seem like a very close group," Barbara murmured, breaking the silence that had fallen.

A gentle smile stole across Jason's face. "We are, and that's the same for the others who joined us during high school."

"Describe your relationships with your teammates," Barbara prompted.

Jason looked thoughtful. "Justin is like my little brother, even though I already have one. I never got to serve with him, but he studies martial arts with Rocky, and he was on the team when Kim and I were kidnapped by Divatox right before graduation, so I've gotten to know him quite well over the years. He was a smart kid and I respect the fact that he's turned into an intelligent and commendable young man, especially after everything he's been through. I adore Tanya. She's always so positive and knows how to take charge when need be. I also have an abiding respect for her because she came from Africa during a time of upheaval and uncertainty and took over as the Yellow Ranger. The same can be said for Katherine. She joined a team that was going through so much and was used and abused by Zedd and Rita. She's a strong woman to go through what she did and still stay sane. I respect them both so much, and I love having them as friends."

The former Red Ranger took a moment to take a drink of water and gather his thoughts. "Rocky, Adam and Aisha are a unit. That's how I've always thought of them. Rocky's the jokester, but always the leader. Adam's the calm, peaceful one. And then there's Aisha, the backbone and strength. In a lot of ways, they remind me of me, Trini and Zack. I respect each of them immensely for not ever hesitating to step up to the challenge of taking over for the three of us who left. The six of them have become family, my family. The experiences they've shared with me cannot be matched by any other."

"And what about your original teammates?" Barbara asked quietly.

"They're my family too. The six of us have been through more together than anyone. We're bonded in a way no one else could be, or would understand. We faced death and destruction together when none of us had any experience. We had to lean on each other and pick up the slack when one of us was down."

"Tell me about Billy."

"He's a genius and if I had to pick anyone to help think of the answers to get us out of any situation, it would be him. He's a wonderful person, and I'm proud of the man he's grown into. I proved to call him friend and brother and teammate."

"Zack."

"Zack is so full of life that I've often wondered how he never choked on it. He was and to this day still is positive, upbeat one. He always followed my lead, without question, but he was also the first person to get through to me when he disagreed with me. Like Billy, he's my brother."

"Trini."

Jason looked a little flustered at the sound of his former Yellow teammate's name. "Calm. Incredibly calm. She's the only girl who's ever truly held her own with me, one on one. She's always been my quiet strength and common sense. She's also the only one of us who ever understood Billy and his techno-babble, as we termed it. Trini's the one who always understood my need to act instead of talk. She taught me to balance those. She's also the person who encouraged me to follow my instincts about leaving the peace conference to become the Gold Ranger, or to study law and become a detective."

Barbara smiled, obviously knowing there was more he wasn't saying, though she wasn't about to touch on it, yet. "Kimberly."

"A bouncy ray of pinkness!" Jason laughed. "My little sister. Feisty, head strong. I love Kim more than I'll ever be able to express. Sometimes she understands me better than anyone. We've always been there for each other when we needed someone the most. I'd trust her with my life, and have, several times. She was a kick ass Ranger and I'm proud to have served with her."

Barbara nodded and spoke the final name. "Tommy."

"My brother in everything but blood. We've been through more together than either of us probably ever wanted to go through. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for him."

"So you really are a close-knit family?" Barbara asked.

"Oh yeah. We're stuck together like glue. We had close friendships before the power bonded us, and those have only strengthened since."

"Now Jason, tell us about this joke Rocky played on you," Barbara started, causing Jason to laugh out loud. "Tommy mentioned it, and I've been bombarded with requests to ask about it."

Shaking his head, Jason shifted in his chair. "A little back story, so you know how this got pulled off. Rocky's cousin Vanessa was in on it too, since she's a computer genius. Anyways, Rocky was at my house one day when I got a mailing from publisher's clearing house. Dummy me made a comment about it being fake and how I never thought anyone won it. Somehow, Rocky talks me into filling it out and sending it back, which I should have known was him getting the idea for the prank and running with it," Jason supplied. "Apparently, he went to Vanessa and had her use her computer skills to create a letter with the official logo and everything. They sent it to me vial snail mail and email."

"And you thought you'd won?" Barbara asked, surprised that Jason of all people would fall for that.

"No initially. The letter and email were to tell me I was one of the finalists," he laughed. "Next thing I know, there's an Ed McMahon look alike on my front porch with a giant check and balloons and a camera crew. I'm just about to start calling people when Rocky pulls up, gets out of his truck, and starts laughing his butt off. I mean, he's laughing so hard he's bent over and leaning against the side of his truck. It was at that point that I realized what was really going on, because everyone else was laughing too. I'm ashamed to say I fell for it."

"We've got the video, courtesy of Rocky, to play for you," Barbara chuckled as everyone turned to look at the television screens in the studio.

The audience laughed as the video played out. When Jason started chasing Rocky around the yard, everyone laughed harder. _"DeSantos! You're a dead man! You'd better get your funky monkey self back here! ROCKY!" _Jason's voice boomed from the vide while Jason himself sat on the stage, buried his face in his hands and laughed till he had tears in his eyes.

"Funky monkey?" Barbara joked.

"A play on his Ninja designation," Jason supplied, blushing. He was slightly embarrassed by her words, feeling as though it was his grandmother or favorite aunt scolding him slightly.

"I see. We're going to take our next question. Go ahead caller."

"Hi Jason, this is Angela from Florida."

"Hello Angela," Jason smiled as he listened carefully to the speakers above him.

"My question is, have you ever kissed any of your female teammates?"

The normal calm, cool demeanor Jason displayed as a former Red Ranger disappeared, in its wake a goofy grin and wide eyes. "Wow, um, believe it or not, I've kissed all five of them," Jason laughed, causing Barbara and the studio audience to look at him in shock. "Get your minds out of the gutter!"

"Jason, please, explain," Barbara just smiled.

"I've kissed them all on the cheeks countless times. They're my sisters. Considering I grew up with Trini and Kim, it should be no surprise that they're the first girls I ever kissed, period. Believe it or not, I had a huge crush on Kim in seventh grade. She was my first real kiss, but it weirded both of us out so much, that it never happened again. As far as Trini's concerned, she's the one who taught me to French kiss during a game of Spin the Bottle. I won't say it wasn't nice, because it was. At fourteen, when your best friend suddenly decides a normal kiss isn't going to cut it, and said friend is a beautiful female, as a horny teenage boy, you're not going to say no, you're just going to go with the flow," he explained, but looked a lot more guilty than he should have. "Does that answer your question Angela?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Barbara smiled when the camera focused on her. "We're going to take a break, and when we come back, we're going to dig deeper into Jason's time as a Ranger."

--

The televisions in the studio flared to life when they came back from commercial break. Images flashed across them – the Red Ranger fighting King Sphinx, the Red Dragon Thunder Zord going up against one of Zedd's monsters, Jason teaching a Martial Arts class at the Youth Center melted into the Gold Ranger helping the Zeo Ranger before it showed him piloting Pyramidas. "Welcome back to Setting the Record Straight. We're talking to the original Red Ranger, and second Gold Ranger, Jason Lee Scott. Now Jason, I'd like to talk about your time as a Ranger," Barbara spoke, looking to Jason who was smiling at her.

"Sure."

"We're going to start by taking an audience question."

"Hi Jason," a beautiful blonde, about twenty-four, spoke up. "I'm Amy from California."

"Hi Amy, what's your question?"

"What was it like to morph into a Ranger for the very first time?"

"It's an experience no Ranger ever forgets," Jason explained, his face composed and his tone serious. He looked at Amy intently but softened the look with a gentle smile. "It's like your whole body is tingling, almost like you've been electrocuted, but it doesn't hurt. The only other thing I could compare it to would be like having sex for the first time." The adults in the audience chuckled. "It's also weird, because you're touching something that's very much alive. The morphin grid, and subsequently the Great Power, is very much like the Force from Star Wars. The first time you touch it is like sensory overload – you smell more, see differently, hear the slightest sound, taste everything; it's like your sense are super charged. At fifteen, I don't think the five of us were ready for it, but you learn to adjust quickly. I can only imagine what it was like for Tommy and Justin, considering their situations."

"Can you elaborate on that for us?" Barbara asked, leaning forward and taking Jason's hand.

"Justin was just eleven when he became a Ranger. Next to the original five, he's the youngest Earth Ranger in history. The power must have been overwhelming for him at the start."

"And with Tommy?"

"Tommy never had a choice to be a Ranger, like the rest of us," Jason started, reminding the audience of Tommy's interview. "Rita thrust the Green Ranger powers on him. Considering he was brainwashed at the time, I can only wonder what that combination was like, and I'm honestly surprised he wasn't more messed up afterward than he actually was. Chalk it up to all the long talks with Zordon, me and Kim," Jason shrugged, but looked pained. "The power is strong when you're in your right mind, but like I said, to be brainwashed and have the power," he paused, his face taking on a look that said he was lost in his memories of a time in the past.

For several long minutes, Jason sat in front of the audience and cameras, looking like he was being tortured. "Jason?" Barbara finally spoke up, breaking him form his memories.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, shaking his head and squeezing her hand.

"It's alright," she told him.

Turning back to the audience, Jason began again. "The first time you morph is just as traumatic as the final time, when the warmth you've carried for so long is suddenly gone. I wouldn't trade either experience for anything."

"Thank you, Jason," Barbara smiled at him. "Moving on. Would you tell us what it was like to suddenly lose your status as team leader with the arrival of the White Ranger?"

Jason blew out a breath as his mind switched from one hard topic to the next. "It wasn't an easy transition. I won't sit here and lie and say I completely understood why, because to this day I don't really, and I've come to terms with that resentment."

"Why did Zordon, your mentor, give your leadership to the White Ranger?"

"You've got to understand, Zordon wasn't from Earth; he wasn't human. He always had a sixth sense about things. Case in point, his handing leadership of the Morphin Rangers to Tommy. He didn't have a team vote, didn't sit me down and explain it, he just did it. Same with the retirement of the four oldest Turbo Rangers. He didn't ask them if they were ready to pass on their powers, he just did it. He knew when things were going to change, sometimes well in advance of when they did. If he hadn't made Tommy leader, it would have left the team reeling when Trini, Zack and I left for the peace conference. And with the Turbo team, Tommy, Kat, Tanya and Adam were graduating high school, moving on in their adult lives. He was smart to pass those powers on before they ran into any problems."

"But you haven't always accepted that, have you?"

"No, but Barbara, Zordon plucked five ordinary teenagers from a tiny Southern California town to be super heroes. We weren't military or law enforcement. We had no life experience outside of the bubble that was Angel Grove. He gave us the tools, the power, and the confidence to do the job he was giving to us. He knew long before we did, that we'd win. Now, knowing that, wouldn't you say he knew what he was doing?"

"Yes."

"It's taken me nearly ten years past my Ranger days to come to terms with his decision and his actions. It's caused me some moments, but I like to think Zordon knew, eventually, I'd understand his master plan."

The veteran journalist knew it was time to switch topics, so the audience was left with a moment of clarity – Jason was just as human as the rest of the world. "Will you tell me what you were feeling when you stepped down as Red Ranger?"

"Believe it or not, I was happier than I ever thought possible to hand that mantle to Rocky."

Jason's answer surprised everyone. "Really?"

"Again, the age factor. I was fifteen when I became a Ranger; I was nearly seventeen when I passed my powers. I'd grown up in that time, a lot. I saw horrors that would make a grown man cry. I'd led a team of teenage superheroes against alien forces bent on destroying the world, or at least ruling it. When I got the offer to go to Geneva, I was relieved."

"Why?"

"Because it had finally sunk in that what we were doing was dangerous and life-threatening. I was ready to stop, ready for someone else to step up and do what I'd been doing. Being a Ranger wasn't easy on my personal life, no matter how much I look at it now and realize I enjoyed every part of it. At the time, I was sick of keeping it a secret, sick of having no life. I was ready for a change."

Barbara looked utterly serious when she asked her next question. "Then why did you come back a year later to be the Gold Ranger?"

"Why did I come back as the Gold Ranger?" Jason asked, repeating out loud the question Barbara asked him.

"Yes."

"Simple. The team needed me," Jason told her honestly.

"But you just said you were ready to move on."

Jason nodded. "A lot changed in a year." The burly former Ranger smiled at the raised eyebrow he was getting in response to that. "I've always been a man of action, and one of little words. My time at the Peace Conference solidified that in my mind. Coming back as the Gold Ranger, despite how it ended, was the right decision for me at that point in my life. The team needed someone they could trust to take on that mantle."

Barbara nodded, and then asked, "Were you unhappy at the Peace Conference?"

"At first, no, but by the time I left, I was edgy, depressed, and in need of familiar surroundings. When the call from Tommy came, I didn't hesitate."

"Was it a hard transition to make, moving from being inactive as a Ranger for over a year to suddenly being thrust back into the middle of a war?"

Jason pursed his lips and thought back to his first days as the Gold ranger. "Yes and no. For Tommy, Adam, Kat and Tanya, no; for me, Billy and Rocky, extremely difficult."

"Friction among you?" Barbara asked, surprised that there might be the possibility of that.

"It was overall an odd thing for me to be back in that world again. For Billy, it was a slap in the face, I think, because he'd given his position to Tanya, selflessly, and got stung by not being able to carry the Gold powers because of an explosion not long before."

She nodded. "And what about Rocky?"

"Rocky had been my successor in Red. I think with me coming back, it shook his confidence in his place on the team."

Barbara looked thoughtful. "Did it cause visible problems among you?"

"Billy and I have been friends for a long time, had been even then. We were tense around each other, but we silently resolved that by acknowledging that we each had a role to play. Rocky and I had a worse time. Rocko did something rash before he and I came to an understanding."

"Something rash? Care to elaborate?"

Jason shook his head. "No. It's in the past, and we all learned a valuable lesson from it. It also made us stronger friends, so I can say with all honesty now I'm glad we went through it."

The audience applauded Jason's choice to leave the comments concerning Rocky where he did. Moving along, Barbara turned to the audience. "We're going to take a break and when we come back, we're going to get into some more personal questions."

--

"Welcome back. We're going to take another caller. Go ahead caller."

"Hi Jason, I'm Rick from Texas."

"Hi Rick. What can I answer for you?" Jason asked, hoping the hard questions were behind him.

"Well, my kids wanted to know what your peace conference experience was like."

Jason grinned and asked, "What are the kids' names?"

"Bianca and Alex."

"Well, Bianca, Alex, the peace conference was a lot like school for me. We studied and discussed issues from Global Warming to Racism to the Alien invasion by Zedd and Rita. We talked to teenagers from around the world, trying to come up with ways we could stop the bad things from happening and how to make good positive changes not just to the world but to our communities as well."

"Was it a hard transition?" Rick asked.

Jason nodded. "Yes, especially after being a Ranger, but like I said, a welcome one."

"Thanks Jason."

"You're welcome," Jason responded.

"Obviously, you stayed in touch with the Rangers after leaving," Barbara started, pulling the audience and Jason's attention to her. "Did you discuss the team at all while you were in Switzerland?" Barbara asked.

Taking a drink of water, Jason debated how to answer that. "Yes and no. If I saw a particularly difficult battle on TV., I'd ask how it went, if everyone was alright, but Tommy, Kim and Billy pretty much left out the shop talk other than how Rocky, Adam and Aisha were adjusting to their new jobs. I think the three of them were perceptive enough to know the three of us longed for home on some level, so that's what we talked about in our brief phone calls and letters."

Barbara nodded. "Okay, our next question is from the audience," she spoke, gesturing to the young man by the microphone.

"I'm Blain from Washington State."

"Hi Blaine, ask away."

"Other than the peace conference, what did you do between stints as a Ranger? Tommy mentioned a Red Ranger mission in his interview, and that you were involved. What went on between that and being the Gold Ranger and what happened between that mission and now."

"I went to college," Jason laughed. "I attended NYU, grated with a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice in 2001." At that Jason paused, knowing almost instinctively what question was about to come out of Barbara's mouth.

"Were you there for September 11th?" Barbara asked.

For a moment, Jason sat there with what looked suspiciously like unshed tears in his eyes. His body language spoke of a quiet, somber mood he was moving into. Sensing he needed time to compose himself, Barbara reached out and took his hand while Jason took a deep breath.

"Yes, I was there," he croaked.

"Jason, we don't have to talk about this, if you don't want to," she suddenly assured him. The look on her face spoke of the pain she felt at having to see this strong man lose his battle with his emotions.

"No, its okay," he told her. "It's been almost six years, but it still feels like yesterday if I'm not consciously blocking it out."

Barbara took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Where were you?"

For a minute, Jason stared at her. He remembered his father describing what it was like for people to ask him where he'd been when President Kennedy had been assassinated; he swallowed, knowing now how his father felt. "I was headed to work," he smiled sadly. "I'd gotten a job with a law firm in Manhattan. I was running late, a nasty habit I'd picked up from Tommy," he winked. "No, really, I was sick, so I was a little slower than normal. I didn't even know what had happened until I heard the sirens."

The look on Jason's face spoke of someone who was use to helping people and suddenly finding himself helpless. "I didn't think, I just headed downtown. I figured if nothing else, they were going to need all the help they could get with those injured. I never could have fathomed what happened, not until I got downtown."

"Was that before or after the towers collapsed?"

"It was just after the second plane crashed." Barbara and the audience remained silent while Jason gathered his thoughts. "I think that was the first time in eight years I cursed not having the Power backing me fully, but I've come to realize that what happened was something no Ranger, active or not, could have stopped; it wasn't an alien invasion or a meteor headed for Earth. It was human beings killing innocent human beings because they didn't agree on how each was living their lives."

The audience was deathly silent while Jason struggled for control. "I was pretty numb most of the day, and it only got worse when I got Kim's frantic phone call about four that afternoon."

"Why?"

"She called, sobbing hysterically to make sure I was okay," Jason started. "And then I heard the rest of the message. Trini was working at the UN Headquarters, and Kim hadn't heard from her. Knowing Trini as well as we both did, Kim was worried Trini had done something dangerous."

Barbara looked serious when she spoke. "You sound as if you didn't know Trini was in New York."

"Honestly, I didn't. I knew she'd gotten the job, I just hadn't known she'd already started. Talk about complicating matters. When I heard Kim's message, my main focus shifted to finding her. I hate how selfish that sounds, but after everything we'd been through as Rangers, I couldn't imagine losing her that way. To this day, I hate that I feel that way, knowing how many families lost loved ones exactly that way, innocent loved ones."

"I'm sure people understand," she assured him. "Did you end up finding her?"

At that, Jason smiled. "She found me," he chuckled. "I was still helping at Ground Zero, still looking for her when I looked up from loading someone into an ambulance and there she was. She looked tired and dirty, and I knew in an instant she'd been helping out."

Barbara smiled. "What did you do?"

"I gave her the hardest, most bone-crushing hug I could before I broke down crying and so did she. We were inseparable for the next week, because that's how long it took us to get the word out that we were okay."

"Other than college and September 11th, has there being anything else that happened in those years?" Barbara asked, shifting topics.

Jason blew out a deep breath and nodded. "Let's see, I almost got married to my high school sweetheart, Emily."

"And what became of that, because obviously you aren't married?"

"Em wasn't ready, and in all honesty, I wasn't either. Adam and Tanya got married and had a baby, so I'm an uncle. Oh, yeah, I ended up snack food for a monster with the munchies, as Kim has so often eloquently put it. I also had one of my friends nearly blown up on an uncharted, uninhabited island in the South Pacific, and I've become a lawyer. Overall, nothing extremely monumental has happened for me, just normal life stuff, which I'm thankful for."

The audience laughed at Jason's joke, knowing that half of what happened to him could only happen to a Power Ranger. "Jason, I did this with Tommy, and I'd like to do it with you."

"Sure, what are we going to do?"

"Word association. Ready?" Jason nodded. "Power Rangers."

"Our legacy. A family I was given that means so much to me. Strength, protection, loyalty and perseverance."

"Red."

"Leadership. Fear. A Learning experience."

"Emily."

"A wonderful woman, the first one I ever loved. Sadness."

"Tommy?"

"My best friend, my brother in everything but blood."

"Okay, one more," Barbara grinned like she had a well kept secret she was about to share. "Trini."

Jason spoke without hesitation and instantly knew what was going to be said about it as soon as it came out of his mouth. "Home."

Barbara raised an eyebrow, knowing he'd just given her more ammunition for her last question. "Jason, if you could redo anything, what would it be?"

"Nothing."

"Surely, there's something you would redo? You wouldn't even prevent Zordon's death?"

Jason paled but shook his head. "Zordon didn't do anything we wouldn't have done ourselves. I miss him, we all do, but he knew what he was doing, and in the end, we have to honor his decision, no matter how much that hurts."

The blonde journalist nodded. "We're going to take one last audience question. Go ahead."

"Hey Jason, I'm Nicolette, from Angel Grove, California."

Jason laughed. "Ah, hometown native. Go for it."

"I'm sure the question on every single woman in the world's mind is, is the original Red Ranger single or does he have a girlfriend?"

To say the former Red and Gold Ranger looked like a deer caught in the headlights was an understatement. "Um, well, you see….no comment."

Grinning, Barbara took something out of the folder in her lap and held it up for Jason and the audience to see. It was a copy of the National Enquirer that had photos on the front of Jason and some woman. "Jason, can you explain how the National Inquirer got these photos then? And who's the woman in them with you?"

A copy of the cover flashed across the television screens. The couple in the photo was Jason and a woman who suspiciously looked like Trini on a beach, holding each other in a close embrace. One was of them kissing and another of them splashing in the surf. "Busted," Jason laughed, embarrassed.

"So, in a relationship, or just friends with benefits?" Barbara asked, causing Jason to look startled by her use of slang.

"In a relationship," Jason murmured, smiling gently. "Trini isn't the kind of girl to do friends with benefits, and my mother raised me to have more respect for women than that."

"It appears we have a called who'd like to speak to you," Barbara announced, smiling. "Go ahead caller."

"JASON LEE SCOTT! HOW IN THE HELL COULD YOU TWO KEEP THIS FROM ME!" Kimberly's screech sounded.

Jason winced. "Ummm…Kimmie…"

"Don't you Kimmie me! I'm going to wring both your necks! How long have you two been keeping it from us?"

The former Red and Gold Ranger tried to smile. "Well, you see…six months."

"SIX MONTHS!"

Barbara covered her mouth to keep her smile hidden while Jason, to the audience's delight, got reamed by his little sister. "Kim, can we talk about this later?"

"No, we can not!" she hollered at him. "Just when were you two going to tell us, or were you ever going to tell us?"

Jason's face narrowed in anger. "Kimberly Ann." When he heard sniffling on the other end, Jason's face softened. The sound of the phone shuffling could be heard before someone else started speaking.

"Bro, you'd better come clean. She's crying and I'm holding you personally responsible."

Jason winced, obviously feeling the guilt Tommy was laying at his feet. "Has Trini called her yet?"

"Aisha's on the phone with her right now, Kim won't take the phone."

Blowing out a breath, Jason nodded. "Believe it or not, I've always had a thing for Trini," he started. "It started when she kicked my butt in marital arts class all those years ago. That gave me a grudging respect for her. I didn't think anything of it in high school or college, because I didn't think she felt the same. Then September 11th happened. Unfortunately, that was crappy timing on both our parts. We were both involved with other people and in different places in our lives." He paused there to reign in his thoughts. "I didn't really think about it again until Adam and Tanya had the baby and then Tommy and Kim got back together."

"What was the breaking point?" Barbara asked while the audience hung on his every word.

"About seven months ago, we went out to dinner together. I drove her home, walked her to the door, and next think I know, Trini's angry and asking me why, if I'm attracted to her, haven't I kissed her or asked her on a proper date yet."

The audience burst into laughter. "Yeah. Next thing I know, we're dating. We never meant to keep it a secret, but we just didn't feel it was anyone's business. I think a lot on my part was wanting to make sure it was going to last. I saw what happened when Tommy and Kim, and later Tommy and Kat, breaking up did to the group. I think unconsciously, Trini has been thinking the same thing."

"So you are dating?"

"Yes ma'am," he smiled. "Looks like I need to order some flowers before my little sister threatens to never speak to me again."

"Apparently so," Barbara agreed, chuckling as she turned to the cameras. "That's all we have time for today. Join me next time as we welcome original Yellow Ranger, Trini Kwan, to the Setting The Record Straight stage." Jason heaved a sigh as the cameras went off. "Congratulations, Jason, you made it."

"Yeah, but now I have to face the wrath of Hurricane Kimberly," he grinned.

--

Next, Trini Kwan.


	5. Interview 4: Trini Kwan

**The Title: "Setting The Record Straight"  
Interview 4 of 12**

**Written By: The 61 Minutes News Team (Pink-Green-White-4ever and Shawn30)**

**Summary: With two years of false news reports, lies written in many articles, privacy-invading prime time exposes, and unofficial books written about them and their former lives as Power Rangers the original twelve decide to finally set the record straight in a series of one-on-one interviews with Barbara Walters.**

**Timeline: Early 2007. Power Rangers Dino Thunder took place, although Tommy and Kim reunited during it. All will be explained in their own words. EVERYTHING else is canon, but keep in mind the Rangers are adults now and we're writing this as if the events in the PR universe happened in real life.**

**Rating: R for no holds barred adult language.  
Couples: Outside of Tommy and Kim just keep your eyes open evil grin**

**Email: Notes 1. In early 2005 secret Government files were accidentally opened to the public revealing the names of the first twelve Power Rangers. The C.I.A were covertly keeping tabs on everything that took place in Angel Grove during the Rangers tour of duty and discovered over the years the identities of the Power Rangers. They never learned all the details of what happened behind the scenes with Zordon or the various enemies they fought, but enough intelligence was gathered that names and addresses were discovered. Upon being outed to the public, the former Rangers anonymous lives were over as they became instant, overnight celebrities.**

**But the lights of stardom tend to fade and after while their privacy was being invaded from all sides. Former friends and family members began writing books and giving interviews for money. News crews hounded their residences. Paparazzi hounded them everywhere they went, as well as their work places. Nighttime news programs ran intense exposé on their lives, loves, and pieced-together history as Power Rangers. Outright Lies, crazy assumptions, and rude invasions of privacy have led the former Rangers to finally break their silence and tell their story in their own words.**

**As is posted on the ABC:The profile of Barbara Walters, she has arguably interviewed more statesmen, Presidents, and stars than any other journalist in history. She is so well known that her name and a brief biography is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary. And when the former Ranger's new publicist contacted her to conduct the interviews she jumped at the chance to bring the story of Earth's greatest heroes to the world in their own words, while humanizing the larger than life warriors that risked their lives to protect the world for so many years.**

**Choosing a small, intimate studio audience while allowing call-in questions to be taken live on the air, the former Power Rangers will at last tell their story, answer Barbara's pointed questions as well as your own concerning their professional and private lives. Expect the unexpected as this prime time interview series will air on HBO instead of network television.**

**Authors Notes 2: Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver opens the new groundbreaking series, followed by her husband Dr. Tommy Oliver, Jason Lee Scott and Trini Kwan. The next series will involve Dr. Billy Cranston, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard, and Aisha Campbell. The last series gives us Tanya Sloan, Rocky Desantos, Zackary Taylor and Justin Stewart. Concluding things will be a huge round table discussion with all of the Rangers present.**

**Authors Notes 3. Rita Repulsa first attacked the Earth on August 28, 1993. That's twelve and a half years ago. Our walk down memory lane begins now...**

* * *

"Good evening, I'm Barbara Walters." Loud audience applause greeted the veteran journalist as she walked onto the stage.

"Welcome to our fourth installment of the 'Setting the Record Straight' interview series. An in depth look into the once secret lives of Earth's first twelve Power Rangers, where we allow those mysterious men and women behind the masks to finally tell their story in their own words, as well as give us an intimate glimpse into their personal lives."

Walking slowly across the small quaint stage, Barbara Walters stood center while addressing the packed audience and huge television viewing public. "Last weeks shocking interview not only revealed to us a remarkable individual in Jason Lee Scott, but the revelation of a secret romance that's spawned into a nationwide phenomena." The crowd ohhhed and ahhhed at the mention of controversy. "Ladies and gentleman, Jini has arrived."

(Footage of last weeks revealing interview, complete with Jason's deer-in-headlights reaction to his relationship with Trini being outed on national television, as well as Kim Oliver's surprise call-in was shown on a 60'inch large wide-screen HD-monitor.)

The audience clapped wildly, enjoying the moment as Barbara continued. "Star crossed romance aside, tonight we will be graced with the presence of the original Yellow Ranger. A woman who's fearless spirit in defending the earth was equally matched by her dedication to making a difference in it as well. She has traveled all over the world working for the Geneva Peace Conference and later on the United Nations as a goodwill ambassador. A self-professed quiet soul, she's worked diligently to raise awareness for many issues such as worldwide hunger and the Aids epidemic in Africa, as well as lived through first hand the events of 9/11."

(Video footage of the World Trade Center wreckage is shown on screen.)

"Our guest tonight was one of the first five Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. From the very beginning she fought to protect the world from the forces of evil."

(An exciting video montage is shown of the Yellow Ranger somersaulting into action, singlehandedly fighting off a group of Putties in the streets of downtown Angel Grove. Next the TigerZord was shown leaping into action, lunging fangs bared at a towering creature, and then linking up with the other Zords to form the Mega Zord.)

"Post her career as a Ranger we will learn of the triumph and heartbreak behind the woman who's life has personified the meaning of selfless dedication. Now unexpectedly thrust into the public spotlight, her newly outed romance with Jason Lee Scott has garnered global attention as the entertainment press, and particularly People Magazine have dubbed them 'Jini'. Watch out Bradgelina. Your days are numbered." The studio audience cheered once more.

(Still shots of the February 14, 2007 People Magazine Valentines Day cover with Jason and Trini walking hand-in-hand along the shores of a beach in California are shown, as well as candid photos of the couple on the covers of the National Enquirer, The Star, and The Globe tabloid newspapers.)

"I am sincerely honored to meet tonights guest. Please give a heartfelt welcome to a truly genuine, gifted, and courageous woman. The one... the only... Trini Kwan."

Beautiful and elegant in a gray Prada women's suit, Trini calmly walked across the stage towards Barbara amidst thunderous applause and whistles from the male contingent in the audience. She waved to the crowd, politely shook Ms. Walters hand and then was escorted to the comfortable maroon chairs where they would conduct the interview. Far too many eyes were on her as she tried to simply breathe so that her nerves would calm.

Sensing the spotlight was becoming a bit much for her guest, Barbara reached out and covered Trini's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Still getting used to this, aren't you?"

Trini nodded after a deep breath. "I blend into crowds, not get acknowledged by them. I don't know what to do with all this so called celebrity status. I never sought it before. Its taking some getting used too, even two years after our secret was outed."

"Speaking of the Rangers secret, how do you respond to new criticism in yesterdays Washington Post that if you and the other Rangers truly wanted to live simple, quiet lives you wouldn't go on national television for twelve consecutive weeks where you'd be the coffee machine talk of the day the next morning worldwide?"

"Barbara, put yourself in our shoes for a moment," Trini began. "Imagine that one day your personal life is turned upside down and a spotlight is thrown over every move that you make. You're constantly hounded for information, you have your privacy invaded, have books written about you without your consent that in some cases are nothing but lies, as well as trashy tabloid TV shows picking apart every relationship you've ever had. Imagine your family members and friends being harassed for your personal information, and even ex-boyfriends and girlfriends being paid money for interviews and photos and all sorts of strange things."

Trini continued, "We reached a breaking point where we realized the publics fascination with our lives wasn't dying down. After long talks and a vote between the team, we decided that if we couldn't get our old lives back at least this new one could come with the truth from our own lips. We could set the record straight and have our say. After that we'd at least be dealing with the truth rather than refuting or refusing to address the lies written about us."

"Well said," Barbara respectfully acknowledged. "I think all of us can understand that viewpoint. You're human beings after all, with every right to privacy irregardless of any supposed celebrity status."

"Thank you, Barbara." Having dodged the first bullet of the evening, Trini felt herself begin to relax a bit. Although the three teenagers wearing 'Team JINI' t-shirts weirded her out a bit. "We never wanted to be celebrities and dearly hope that after our interview series we will all be considered boring and yesterdays news. I'm sure some young Hollywood actress will get sent to drug rehab or arrested for something stupid or release a sex tape or get married suddenly to an idiot and then the press can just move right along from us." Laughter echoed around the auditorium, as well as with the guest and interviewer.

Barbara playfully crossed her fingers in support. "Moving along now, I've heard many people try and guess your full nationality. Would you please clear that up for us?"

"Sure. My mother is Chinese and Vietnamese. My father is French. I'm a triple scoop of all that," she added at the end to the chorus of a couple of whistles. She suddenly fought off a casual blush.

Barbara noted her timid response to the obvious male appreciation she was getting. She noted to return to that sometime later in the interview. "Before we go to our studio audience for questions, I wanted to ask you about the first night you became a Power Ranger. After you received your powers and used them, tell me about that first night?"

Taking a trip down memory lane, a fond note of innocence curled Trini's lips. "I remember lying in bed on top of the covers just staring at my ceiling and wondering if I dreamed it all. Here I was 16 years old and hadn't even had a date yet," she chuckled in remembrance. "All of a sudden I'm given super powers, a huge robotic Sabertooth tiger, a secret identity and told to go save the world. And trust me, none of us had time to think about if we could do the job or not. In fact, we didn't even have time to be scared. Attacks came nearly every single day, except weekends for some strange reason."

Barbara considered, "That was odd indeed. I suppose evil took the weekends off."

"Apparently so. And most summers, not that we minded." Trini replied as the audience seemed genuinely amused by their exchange. "To continue my answer, I was lying in bed and then Kim called. When I picked up the phone she asked me if I did anything cool today. Suffice to say we were both overwhelmed and ended up talking for three hours."

"No second thoughts?"

"None. We had a job to do and we did it. Especially when people began to die," she noted seriously. "We grew up really quick, Barbara. One moment we were like kids with the best brand new toys ever. And then it became a matter of life and death. But that first night... it was something truly special."

Noting a cue from one of the stage producers, Barbara looked toward the small microphone stand in the right aisle of the audience. "I think we're ready for our first question from the audience."

A young woman with short, blond hair wearing a USC sweatshirt stood at the podium. "Hello Barbara. Hello Trini. My name is Susan."

"Good evening, Susan," Barbara greeted her.

"Its a pleasure to meet you, Susan." Trini braced herself for the first audience question, which after watching her friends interviews she knew could tend to get very personal and even racy at times. "Ask away."

"A month ago the National Enquirer posted exclusive pictures of Kimberly Hart-Oliver's bachelorette party." Susan saw Trini duck her head, tongue firmly planted in cheek. The audience revved up for this one. "Those pics looked wicked wild. Care to dish on just how wild things got?"

"Why yes, I'd love to discuss President Bush's policies on troop deployment in Iraq and the alarming trend of Global Warming." Fully, though playfully mocking Susan, Trini shook her head and took it all in good spirits. "Look, in a slightly drunk state Kimberly thought it would be awesome to have her bachelorette party at the 'Ladies Luck' male strip club in Santa Monica, California. Well all the girls pitched in and paid for the private party session and then the male strippers asked us all up on stage and... well... look, we kept our clothes on, but after a couple of drinks..."

"The cover was of you, Kim, Tanya, Aisha, and Katherine twirling your bras over your heads while surrounded by men in G-strings."

Blushing, Trini recalled that cover all to well. "Ex-Power Ranger girls, lap dances, and Tequila shots don't mix. And my mom had a field day over that cover. Rocky even made a poster of it. It hangs in his office, the bastard," she laughed at the end, remembering the first time she saw it and wanted to ring his neck. "All in all we had a great time that night. We went wild on Kim's last night as a single woman. Trust me, there were several other girls there with us having just as great a time. But since they weren't ex-Rangers their faces and bras weren't plastered on the covers of the tabloids."

"Thanks, Trini. You're the best."

"Thank you too."

Sensing that a gentle shift towards something not of the strip club variety else was in order, Barbara set out to do just that. "Trini, I've always wanted to know what about the Geneva Peace Conference made it so alluring and special that you gave up being a Power Ranger for it? Most people couldn't imagine walking away from such an important and exciting lifestyle to one filled with unpredictable elements. Especially at the age that you did."

"Well, I can only speak for myself, but I lived kind of a sheltered, normal life growing up. At least until I became a Power Ranger," she smiled. "I think that after a year I had proved to myself that I could handle the responsibility of being a Ranger, as well as the sacrifices and reality of the life we led. But when the chance to go to the Geneva Peace Conference came my way it seemed to offer so much more to me. I was going to travel all around the world and learn about other cultures and governments first hand. I was going to be a part of the solution to the worlds most ugly problems, and that was a huge deal to me. As a Power Ranger I might make the nightly news in one way or another, but the desperate situation the people of Somalia have been living with for years now would continue. As a representative of the Peace Conference I was able to help people and bring awareness to the plight of others firsthand. That was a powerful beacon for me to follow that I just couldn't ignore."

"But to give up a life of living above normal people?"

"None of us saw it that we. We were just normal teenagers helping people. Maybe it was for the best we were a bit naive about it at first, but we never saw ourselves as better than anyone or anything like that."

"Did you miss being a Ranger?"

"The first six months were hell. And not only mentally as far as missing our friends and the excitement and rush of being a Ranger. The physical pain involved in being separated from the power was stronger than any of us anticipated or were prepared for. The connection is just so powerful."

"That's so interesting and after our first commercial break I'd like to later on return to the issues of how the Power feels and how you feel when its gone. We'll be back shorty with Setting the Record Straight featuring Trini Kwan in just a moment."

* * *

As the studio stage lights bloomed luminously once more Barbara greeted the studio audience and those watching at home. "Welcome back to 'Setting the Record Straight'. Our gracious guest this week is the lovely Trini Kwan."

With a faint blush tinging her cheeks from the compliment, Trini waved at the crowd, "Thank you, Barbara." The swelling cheers from the boisterous studio audience were still taking some getting used to for the former Yellow Ranger, a quiet soul in her own right.

"Trini, I'd like to talk about your parents next," Barbara began as Trini nodded. "Specifically, what was their reaction when the news broke about you being a former Power Ranger?"

That unforeseen fateful day was one Trini would never forget for the rest of her life. "The interesting thing about your question is that my parents were the ones who told me about the news report first," she explained amidst a sense of awe as if it happened just yesterday. "After that my cell phone absolutely exploded as everyone was calling everyone every five minutes. My parents thought it was some crazy practical joke on some new reality TV show or something. There was a real sense of disbelief going on for everyone involved."

"The same could be said for the public at large," Barbara declared. "For the longest time despite the few instances of Power Rangers speaking in what sounded like normal human voices most people thought the Rangers were aliens."

"And that was just the way we wanted it to stay," Trini confided. "Back to my story, as the news program my parents were watching continued divulging indisputable evidence I began to panic. NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CNN, MSNBC, and even ESPN quickly picked up the story. At that point I was forced to come clean with my parents about everything. Stunned silence was followed by even more stunned silence," she smiled.

With her hands folded comfortably in her lap, Trini continued, "You have to understand, Barbara. All of the first five Rangers families were still very close to each other, so when the reports surfaced they were all shocked. They began accusing each other of who knew what, when they knew it, and how much did they know. My parents were ranting and raving at first when they began to piece together all the lies I told and the lies my friends told as well. It was unbelievable to them that I could have kept something so important and dangerous from them. Now don't get me wrong. They weren't so much truly angry as they were floored that their only child used to be a super hero and they never thought she was any weirder than having a particular affinity for yellow clothes."

That brought about a couple more chuckles from the studio audience. Barbara seemed amused as well, adding, "How long was it before they calmed down?"

"About three days later," Trini fondly remembered wearing a grin. "At that point all of the original Rangers; myself, Kim, Jason, Billy, and Zack were able to get our families together at Jason's parent's new home in San Francisco. We figured the best thing to do would be to gather everyone together in the same room at the same time and answer all questions thrown our way. We told them everything as best we could. Trust me when I say it was a long conversation that went on well into the night."

"What was the end result?"

"We had to make two things perfectly clear. First, Zordon's rules were non-negotiable when it came to anyone knowing the Rangers true identities. And that was for a ton of good reasons as well as the same rules past Ranger teams lived by. Second, how unaware we all were as far as what we were getting ourselves into. The real danger and violence that we faced on a daily basis didn't really sink in until some time later. At first it was this huge, larger than life adventure that was literally thrown in our laps and the thrill of it blinded us to the reality of how important the work was. But as time passed it quickly evolved into the most serious responsibility any of us had ever had before."

Trini was happy to report, "All in all at the end of the day my parents are very, very proud of me. I gave them all the credit for raising me the way they did and now its kinda funny because they had these t-shirts printed up that read on the front 'Your Kids Might Have Gotten All A's, But My Kid Saved The World.'" The audience chuckled along with the guest and her host. "My parents are strange, wonderful human beings. They're my best friends... as long as they don't hound me about grandkids. Alas, that's the burden of being an only, unmarried child and on the doorstep of thirty years old."

"Oh, I believe your accomplishments thus far have them very pleased, grandkids or not."

"From your mouth to God's ears."

Barbara gave a curt nod as her studio producer signaled in her ear that the first caller of the second segment was waiting. The details came a moment later. "Trini, are you ready for a couple more call-in questions?"

Easily the tougher of the queries she would face, Trini was game nonetheless. "Go for it."

"I believe we have Heather from Michigan calling in. Good evening, Heather. Welcome to 'Setting the Record Straight."

"Hi Barbara. Hello Trini," came a nervously cheerful voice. "I can't believe I got through," Heather laughed.

"Hey, Heather. Congratulations," Trini offered politely.

"Thanks, Trini. I just want to say that you've been such a role model for me and my friends ever since the story of your life came out. I'm 19 and I'm going to be living overseas for the next two years in the Army, so I have an idea what its like to give your life to something greater than yourself. You are a true inspiration for me."

Willing back tears behind misty eyes, Trini graciously accepted the praise. "Thank you for the kind words, Heather. I appreciate them."

"Heather?" Barbara interjected. "The floor is yours."

Having debated asking this one in particular due to its delicate nature, Heather decided to bite the bullet. "Trini, if this is too personal just say so and its cool. But there are rumors that you suffered a miscarriage or had an abortion some years ago and I hate how some in the media want to portray your character as lacking due to unconfirmed reports about your life at that time when no one knows what really happened. Its not anyones business and I get that, but maybe its a issue you can have your say on for once. Again, if you want to not answer I'll understand."

Suddenly the bright lights felt especially heavy as Trini could sense all eyes were on her. It was as if the air was being sucked out of the studio around her and the pressure that was left felt suffocating. Nonetheless, she rose to the occasion as this was an opportunity to lay some of her demons to rest. She had the courage to come on this show with no rules beforehand on what she could be asked so she wasn't going to back down now.

Softly clearing her throat, Trini addressed the question head-on. "I suffered a miscarriage in March of 2000," she explained. "I was in a committed relationship at the time with a guy I was in love with, and though the pregnancy was unplanned we chose to have the baby. While I am not a person myself who could have an abortion I am Pro-Choice. As for the miscarriage, its an unfortunate occurrence for many women and can take place with no rhyme or reason. That was a very tough period in my life."

After a calming sip of water, Trini continued, "I want to set the record straight on one undeniable fact everyone has to understand. Despite the life we led as Power Rangers and the accomplishments each of us have enjoyed on an individual basis we are all human. Very human, meaning we make mistakes, are not perfect, battle our own personal demons and suffer tragedies just like everyone else does. If you choose to feel inspired by the life we've all led and take from that some positive perspective on your own then we accept that. But please do not hold us up on some pedestal as perfect people who are above anyone else. We are daughters and sons, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives who deserve no more or less respect than anyone else."

Finishing up, Trini concluded with, "As for those attacks on my character based on false assumptions, lies, and the need to sell tabloids newspapers I only ask that you treat me and extend to me the same courtesy you would want for yourself. Your personal life is your own and mine is mine."

"Trini, you're the best," Heather stated while clapping over the phone as did the entire studio audience. Barbara joined in the praise of her guests maturity. Trini blushed while thanking Heather and the audience.

Barbara addressed the caller once more. "Thank you, Heather."

"Thanks again for taking my call. Goodnight Trini and Barbara."

"Night." While deciding to tread lightly, Barbra nonetheless owed it to the viewers to dig deeper when the opportunity arose. "Trini, as we've gone over the sad news of your miscarriage, I have to ask about the father. Paul McPherson has been identified as your significant other at the time." Pictures of a very handsome man with short dark hair and dimples was shown on the wide-screen monitor. "He has steadfastly refused any interviews or statements regarding your past romance. My question isn't about him as much as wanting to know have you and the others had to contact people you all used to have relationships with to ask them not to give out personal information?"

Trini sighed on the wing tips of shaking her head. "Yes, and that's been a huge issue with all of us. Personally, I've contacted three ex-boyfriends and asked them to please respect my privacy and not give into the gossip mongers. So far I've been lucky as they've abided by my wishes, but Kim, Billy, Katherine, and Rocky haven't been so lucky."

"The lure of easy money and the chance to appear on trashy reality TV shows seems to call out to some, morals be damned."

"Indeed." Trini pressed on. "Its a crazy world we live in where people can get paid to tell the private details of someones life for money no matter the damage, embarrassment, or invasion of privacy that might cause. What's worse is they don't care. When one of Katherine's ex-boyfriend sold pictures he took of her in a bikini to the National Enquirer for $50,000 each we really got a sense of just how bad things were going to be."

"The voracious appetite some have for taking anything and turning it into a salacious story boggles the mind."

"And they don't care who gets hurt in the process."

"I've dealt with things of that nature as well, Trini," Barbara alluded to as interviewer and guest shared a quiet moment. "I think we need to lighten the mood up a bit." Something of a wicked smile came over her face as her guest seemed to notice it as well, fidgeting in hr seat. "Please describe for us the man in your life?"

Boisterous chatter lifted about the studio as the more gossipy side of things reared its head. Trini centered her thoughts and came up with a most interesting way to deal. "He's just the most wonderful, special person I have ever know," she began to a chorus of Ahhh's from the 'Jini' contingent in the front row. "He's smart and so affectionate I just can't stop kissing him. He's supportive, cute, and always warmly greets me when I walk through the front door."

Trini added quiet sarcastically, "And his tongue can do some incredible things."

Barbara blushed slightly, playing to the audiences obvious interest. "Now that's information of an intimate nature I'm sure will keep people talking."

"Well, when someone can lick there own butt I'd call that incredible," she laughed as the audience barely blinked before she continued. "He sleeps on my bed most of the day, pees around fire hydrants, and seems to love SpongeBob SquarePants. I usually leave the DVD on when I walk out of my apartment."

Barbara playfully rolled her eyes as snickers sounded round them. "Is this where you say hardy har har?"

Trini shrugged. "The man in my life is my Great Dane puppy, Butters. I'm a South Park fan despite being highly educated," she laughed.

"Nice way to avoid the 'real' question, Ms.Kwan."

"Nice way to pry, Ms. Walters," the former Ranger teased, to which Barbara acknowledged a quiet touché.

Going over a few of her notes, Barbara felt ending this segment on this particular note would shift things back to a more serious air. "Its been well documented that Tommy Oliver, Adam Park, and Jason Lee Scott among others have at times of dire need taken up the mantle of Power Ranger again. Should the need arise would you?"

What came to mind first was tempered by maturity and age as Trini gave the question its proper weight. "I wouldn't hesitate if I was needed and I didn't have any children," she detailed. "I honestly think there are more than enough good, well-trained people who want the Ranger life that I shouldn't be needed. But if I was I would do whatever it takes to the best of my ability. The only thing that would effect that choice would be if I had children at the time. Then I would have to honestly think about it."

"Why do you think some of the former Rangers are so drawn to that lifestyle even now?"

"I'm a choco-holic and I will never recover no matter how many Twelve-Step programs you send me to or patches you stick on my arm," she joked a bit. "We all have our vices, though some are much more extreme than others. And those of us who served as Rangers longer have a much tougher time leaving it behind."

"Are you sure its not an addiction to spandex?" Barbara joked as the audience laughed.

"In Tommy's case it might be."

Turning towards the television cameras, Barbara said, "We'll be right back with the interesting, mysterious Trini Kwan. And yes, we will get into the 'Jini' craze sweeping the nation." Trini ducked her head as the audience whooped and cheered.

* * *

"Welcome back to 'Setting the Record Straight'. This is our final segment with the wonderful Trini Kwan," Barbara announced to another appreciative round of applause. Trini gave a polite wave to the audience. "Trini," she began. "Tell us how your life has changed since the true history of the Power Rangers and your part in it were revealed?"

"Privacy, privacy, privacy," Trini repeated in a serious tone of voice that clearly echoed her annoyance with it all. "The lack of it my life currently enjoys has been something we're all adjusting to the best way we can. For me personally, with all the time that has past since everything came out I still don't understand why we're so newsworthy."

Trini continued after a pause. "I'm getting followed by the paparazzi and can't even rent a DVD without having someone shove a camera in my face or ask my opinion on the Oscars. I just don't understand the extreme fascination people have with us. When the story first broke then yes, I can understand the feeding frenzy of the media and public at large. But that was almost two full years ago. None of us are Rangers anymore, and some haven't been for nearly a decade." Sighing, she added, "I'm just looking to get back to something of a quiet, normal life, though I'm not sure that will ever be possible again and that's tough for me to deal with because I'm a very trusting person. Now I have to be very careful who I confide in. I have to be more aware of what I say because someone could be recording it. There's a sense of paranoia that I truly dislike."

Barbara truly sympathized with her guest as the weight of public opinion could be suffocating. "You have to understand, Trini. You helped save the world in a larger than life sort of way. You've experienced things people never thought anyone would experience. You've seen and done things up until the Rangers arrived that was only thought of in Sci-fi movie. It's given you and all the former Rangers a cult status that has people constantly talking. Add into it the fact that the Rangers were multi-racial which broadens the worldwide appeal and with hours and hours of absolutely incredible footage of the Rangers saving the world makes for a compelling story. Especially now that we have a face and a voice to match to the uniforms and powers you've all become cultural phenomenons."

"So what you're saying is I'd better get used to having nut case tabloid reporters sifting threw my trash?" Trini smiled brightly.

"Many people have wished they weren't so appealing and interesting to the public," Barbara half-teased. "Unfortunately the public deems who is and isn't the current apple of their eye. In addition, it would probably be smart to shred or burn just about anything remotely personal that you toss in your trash."

"I'll keep that in mind." Trini gave a small, disbelieving shake of her head. "I never wanted praise or glory for my time as a Ranger. I was performing a duty no different than a doctor, police officer, or fireman. I just wore yellow spandex, flipped in the air allot, fought retarded Putties by the dozens, and rode in super cool robots."

"See Trini," Barbara pointed out. "That's the attitude people adore about you."

"I'm just being myself."

"That's all you ever have to be." Taking a cue from the her studio producer, Barbara looked towards the center aisle where a clean-shaven man appearing to be in his twenties of Hispanic descent waited at a small podium.. "Trini, I think we'll take a question from the audience if you don't mind?"

"Go right ahead."

"Sir," Barbara acknowledged. "What is your name and where are you from?"

"Hi, Barbara, Hello, Trini. My name is Juan and I'm from El Paso, Texas."

"Nice to meet you, Juan," Trini greeted him. "What can I answer for you?"

He adjusted the microphone to his height. "Since you've lived such an incredible life with your past as a Power Ranger and your many years overseas working for the Peace Conference I was wondering if you'd describe a typical day in your life now?"

"Well, I usually wake up to the unruly tongue of an overly affectionate dog," Trini began to a chorus of chuckles. "After a quick shower I obsessively check my email, delete the penis enlargement spam and all references to online contests, and then check my answering machine. I erase 80 percent of the messages as they are from people I don't know who somehow got my home phone number. Then I get dressed..."

Juan's eyes widened. "So you do all of that in the nude before you dress?"

"In your dreams," Trini taunted tongue firmly planted in cheek as the audience cheered and the guy blushed hard. "Anyway, I'm usually out of the house inside of forty-five minutes post waking up. I work at the United Nations Secretariat eight hours a day, though I goof on AIM with Kim and Sha when no ones looking."

"Around noon I usually call my," she paused as this was no doubt going to open Pandora's Box. "My boyfriend and make sure he hasn't gone nuts with road rage or anything. Watch out America. Cutting Jason off in traffic isn't a wise thing to do."

The audience erupted, especially those wearing the 'Jini' t-shirts as it seemed Trini was finally ready to open up about her relationship.

"I'll probably exchange a couple of emails with Rocky over the insane pictures of crazy things he sends all the ex-Rangers every day in a mass email. Then I'll call my parents to check on them and give instructions on how to use the DVD player... Look, I lead a pretty typical life outside of the photographers following me around and all that. Sorry, no wild orgies to speak of."

"Thanks, Trini. You're the best."

"Thank you, Juan."

Barbara thanked him once more and then faced her guest again. It was time to get personal as the evening was winding down. "Trini, after last weeks public reveal of your relationship with Jason Scott Lee the press has been going wild over it. All he world loves a sweet romance and the coined name of 'Jini' seems to be sweeping the nation. And while I absolutely respect your right to privacy, forums such as this one give you the chance to set the record straight, pun intended," she smiled brightly. "Would you mind if we talk about your personal life?"

Having prepared for this all week long as best she could, never mind the damage control with Kim, Trini exhaled a calm, deep breath and nodded.

"Are you in love?"

"Yes," came swiftly and without doubt, her lips curled into a pleasing smile. "Very much so."

"Last week Jason revealed that it was just after 9/11 that you and him began to slowly cross the line from friendship to romance. And then at the Olivers wedding things began to move forward."

Trini lived it all again in the span of a second, unable to fend off the loving expression that came over her face. "Jason and I aren't star-crossed like Tommy and Kim. That's not to say what we share is any less powerful, but we didn't have that 'meant to be' sort of courtship. We grew up together and our time overseas with Zack saw us grow into adults who were closer than ever. I honestly wasn't attracted to him for a number of years. And I thought he had a big head. literally." The audience laughed as she knew she'd be hearing about that one later on from the man himself.

After a drink of water, Trini continued. "In many ways Jason is my very best friend. He's such a kind soul. He's strong and sweet at the same time and even when he pisses me off I just want to kiss him." The 'Jini' fans in the audience "awwed" after she revealed that. "We've spent more time together than with anyone else in the last ten years and we've grown as individuals. I never, ever thought I would fall in love with him. I mean I've known him since I was a child and if I never felt anything for him all those years ago then why now? But something slowly changed between us and that attraction, chemistry and heat grew until we couldn't take it anymore."

"But you chose to hide the relationship. Why?"

"Well, not long after Tommy and Kim were married Peanut Butter was born. So we..."

"Peanut Butter?"

"That's our group nickname for Tanya and Adam's daughter. The best kid on Earth in my opinion. Anyway, after she was born and the wedding there was so much going on that Jason and I wanted a little privacy until we knew for certain if we were going to work out or if it was an affair that might flicker out after a time."

A shy quality she wore so well came over Barbara's guest as she watched her closely. "Something tells me you two figured that one out."

"We found our good place, yes. We never set out to lie to our friends, but we had to know for ourselves if this was the real deal," Trini spoke from the heart. "We're bets friends who fell in love by accident and its the most wonderful experience of my life. Jason makes me very happy."

"That's all any of us hope for, dear." Offering a sweet gesture of patting Trini's hand, Barbara just had to ask, "So how did you deal with Kim after last weeks show? I can only assume Mrs. Oliver wasn't too pleased with you judging by her response to Jason last week on-air."

Blanching slightly, Trini recalled last weekend. "I flew out the night of Jason's interview to California to see Kim first thing the next day. When I arrived at her house she wouldn't let me in the front door and even threw a shoe at me out of the window," she laughed at the memory.

"What's so funny about a good friend tossing a shoe at you?"

"Well, it was one of a pair I actually lent to her. When I reminded her of that she got even madder and threw the other shoe at me. I dodged it while listening to Tommy try to calm her down inside. And with the photographers camped out on their front lawn expect the tabloids to have a field day with the pictures of me cartwheeling out of the way of a flying high heel."

"Now that's a photo even I want to see."

"Thankfully, Tommy snuck me in through the back of the house and after a couple of minutes of zany arguing over my relationship with Jason and why I never told her, the real fate of Billy's pet hamster when we were nine, who got their period first, and how they get the jelly in jelly donuts we were able to reach an agreement that preserved our friendship."

"Can we get any details of this agreement?"

"I owe her ten million dollars in nickels and dimes. She gave me eighty years to pay up."

"Thank goodness you're gainfully employed," Barbara enjoyed teasing her guest.

"Absolutely."

"Well Trini, you've been a wonderful guest tonight. I am truly honored to have had the chance to interview you and give the world a side of you that's the truth in your own words."

"Thank you so much, Barbara. Its been my honor as well."

"Before we say goodnight what would you like everyone to know about Trini Kwan."

Sighing as the evening came to an end, Trini's eyes lifted to the camera's as she shared a bit of her beautiful soul. "Anyone can live a spectacular if they put others above themselves. That's how I live my life. It means something to me to go to bed at night knowing I tried to make the world a better place. And whether that was in skintight yellow spandex piloting a Mega Zord or speaking out on the hunger and the growing Aids epidemic in Africa or just volunteering one day a month at a homeless shelter we can all do something no matter how big or small it is to help someone else. I do my very best in that regard."

"Thank you so much for your time, patience, and candor," Barbara offered as she stood with Trini amidst a round of claps and cheers. "Next week on 'Setting the Record Straight' we will visited by one of the longest serving Rangers in history, the enigmatic Adam Park. Goodnight everyone."

* * *


	6. Interview 5: Adam Park

The Title: "Setting The Record Straight"  
Interview 5 of 12

Written By: The 61 Minutes News Team (Pink-Green-White-4ever and Shawn30)

Summary: With two years of false news reports, lies written in many articles, privacy-invading prime time exposes, and unofficial books written about them and their former lives as Power Rangers the original twelve decide to finally set the record straight in a series of one-on-one interviews with Barbara Walters.

Timeline: Early 2007. Power Rangers Dino Thunder took place, although Tommy and Kim reunited during it. All will be explained in their own words. EVERYTHING else is canon, but keep in mind the Rangers are adults now and we're writing this as if the events in the PR universe happened in real life.

Rating: R for no holds barred adult language.  
Couples: Outside of Tommy and Kim just keep your eyes open evil grin

Email: Notes 1. In early 2005 secret Government files were accidentally opened to the public revealing the names of the first twelve Power Rangers. The C.I.A were covertly keeping tabs on everything that took place in Angel Grove during the Rangers tour of duty and discovered over the years the identities of the Power Rangers. They never learned all the details of what happened behind the scenes with Zordon or the various enemies they fought, but enough intelligence was gathered that names and addresses were discovered. Upon being outed to the public, the former Rangers anonymous lives were over as they became instant, overnight celebrities.

But the lights of stardom tend to fade and after while their privacy was being invaded from all sides. Former friends and family members began writing books and giving interviews for money. News crews hounded their residences. Paparazzi hounded them everywhere they went, as well as their work places. Nighttime news programs ran intense exposé on their lives, loves, and pieced-together history as Power Rangers. Outright Lies, crazy assumptions, and rude invasions of privacy have led the former Rangers to finally break their silence and tell their story in their own words.

As is posted on the ABC: The profile of Barbara Walters, she has arguably interviewed more statesmen, Presidents, and stars than any other journalist in history. She is so well known that her name and a brief biography is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary. And when the former Ranger's new publicist contacted her to conduct the interviews she jumped at the chance to bring the story of Earth's greatest heroes to the world in their own words, while humanizing the larger than life warriors that risked their lives to protect the world for so many years.

Choosing a small, intimate studio audience while allowing call-in questions to be taken live on the air, the former Power Rangers will at last tell their story, answer Barbara's pointed questions as well as your own concerning their professional and private lives. Expect the unexpected as this prime time interview series will air on HBO instead of network television.

Authors Notes 2: Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver opens the new groundbreaking series, followed by her husband Dr. Tommy Oliver, Jason Lee Scott and Trini Kwan. The next series will involve Dr. Billy Cranston, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard, and Aisha Campbell. The last series gives us Tanya Sloan, Rocky DeSantos, Zackary Taylor and Justin Stewart. Concluding things will be a huge round table discussion with all of the Rangers present.

Authors Notes 3. Rita Repulsa first attacked the Earth on August 28, 1993. That's twelve and a half years ago. Our walk down memory lane begins now...

The Alpha Stunts team is the crew that does all the stunts for the Power Rangers television series. We did not make this team up nor do we own the name and we aren't associated with them.

--

The applause in the studio was deafening as the host for the evening's festivities walked out from behind the stage. She stood before the crowd and smiled. "I'm Barbara Walters, and I'd like to welcome to you _Setting The Record Straight_." The audience applauded more, as the large television screens set up around the now familiar stage began to flash clips of the show's subjects, as well as clips from the past four interviews - there were images of Kimberly wiping away her tears and then smiling valiantly talking about her road back to the love of her life; Tommy blushing when he was talking about how his fans have depicted his relationship with his wife; Jason, eyes blazing with emotion as he talked about his time in New York; Trini winking at the camera when talking about a day in her life. Other images blared across the screens as well, images of all twelve Rangers as the public had come to know and love them, in and out of uniform.

"This marks the start of the second set of interviews with the enigmatic heroes known as the Power Rangers." Images of the Morphin', Zeo, and Turbo Rangers in their suits fighting various enemies flashed across the screen, the final three being the Black Morphin', Green Zeo and Green Turbo Rangers before the last image melded into one of a shy smiling man with spiked black hair and soulful almond colored eyes. "My guest tonight comes from humble beginnings in the craggy area of Southern California simply known as Stone Canyon. He's risen to fame as one of Hollywood's leading stunt experts, but there is more to him than just fame and fortune."

All eyes tuned into the television monitors as the black screens lightened with the image of a young Asian man, a young African-American woman, and a little girl who had her mother's nose and eyes and her father's smile. "He was not the first to wear either of his colors, but he made each of them distinctly his own. He's a shy, humble, sensitive man who has been quoted as saying his biggest accomplishments in life are not his deeds as a Power Ranger, but in taking care of his wife and daughter, and being the best son he can be for his parents. It's with great pleasure that I ask you to welcome Adam Park to our stage."

The audience applauded, some of them even yelling out in greeting, as Adam came out from around the corner and onto the stage. He was dressed in a pair of nice black jeans and a black and green polo shirt. His smile, which had once been shy, was now confident, but still held a hint of the quiet man he was. He briefly shook Barbara's hand before the pair sat down in the chairs before the audience. "Adam, thank you for being here."

He grinned and nodded. "Thank you for helping us put our story out there," he told her, genuine relief in his voice.

"I image it's been pretty hectic since all of this started."

Adam nodded. "You have no idea, and even though some of the intensity has died down since we started doing the interviews, it's still very prevalent."

"Understandable. Adam, are you ready to start?" Barbara asked, watching with a bit of sympathy as he took a really deep breath, exhaled and then nodded. "You weren't one of the original six Rangers, were you?"

"No, I wasn't. I was the second Black Ranger, stepping in when Zack left for the Peace Conference with Jason and Trini," he explained, thankful that she started out slow.

"From what we've learned, you, Rocky, and Aisha grew up together in Stone Canyon. Can you tell me what it was like for you to become a Power Ranger with two of your best friends?"

The former Black and Green Ranger tilted his head a little and looked quite serious for a moment. "I couldn't have asked for anything more," he started. "Rocky, Aisha and I have been three peas in a pod since about third grade; we've literally gone through every milestone together. Becoming a Ranger with them right there with me is something I'm thankful for."

"Care to elaborate?" Barbara prodded.

Adam grinned. "When we became Rangers, we were stepping up for three of the originals, and that in and of itself was a hard thing, because of the pressures and expectations we put on ourselves. What's more, Tommy, Kimberly and Billy were still there, and they were the veterans and it was intimidating to start working with them, despite our fledgling friendship with them," he explained, taking a moment to pause and reflect before he started again. "Having my two best friends, who were also completely clueless in the superhero department, right there with me, learning and fighting beside me as we had done for most of our lives, was wonderful for my self-esteem and for getting comfortable with the role I was taking on."

"And yet, you were the last of the three of you to retire," Barbara injected.

Her comment caused Adam to let out a chuckle. "Trust me, if Rocky hadn't gotten hurt, he wouldn't have stepped down from the team. I'd like to think that by the end of our Turbo days, I was pretty confident, even without Rocky and Aisha right there with me."

"Would you say that's because of your wife?"

Adam was about to answer when the audience ooohed and awed at the picture that had appeared on the television screens. It was one of Tanya and him from their senior prom. "Okay, wow, that's an old picture," he laughed, shaking his head. "And yes, I think a lot of it had to do with my wife. Like I had before her, Tanya joined a team that had already been through so much together, who had already bonded over experiences she'd never share. We both had moved from our homes – me from Stone Canyon and her from Africa - to a place where all we had to keep us grounded were our teammates."

Barbara's smile told Adam and the audience she had something up her sleeve. "How did you and your wife end up together? Obviously, being Rangers together helped with that, but how did you two finally know you were it for each other?"

"It was a very long road for us," Adam started. "We started out very close friends, and then I don't know if you can call it dating, but right about the time we went from Zeo to Turbo, we went out on a few dates, but nothing serious. It wasn't until we were in college that things took a turn for the more serious."

"Would you mind sharing with us?" Barbara asked.

"Tanya got a full ride scholarship to go to UCLA after we graduated and I was given the opportunity to work as a stuntman with Dreamworks. It kept us apart, physically, but we stayed in contact via email, phone calls and the occasional visit," Adam explained, his face taking on a look that said he was lost in memories. "It was… it was really hard. We actually mutually broke up a few times, because at the time we weren't completely official. It wasn't until just after September 11th that we finally sat down and decided that we were sick of wanting each other and not doing anything about it."

"September 11th has held more than a bit of meaning with the Rangers, as it has with everyone in this country, wouldn't you say?" Barbara asked carefully, watching Adam's face harden slightly.

The former Ranger chose his words carefully, knowing that no matter what he thought, they would make and impact with someone somewhere. It was the same kind of thoughts he'd had when he'd been a Ranger; whatever he thought of that duty, somewhere, somehow, someone would be impacted from the job he did and the words he said. "I think if there was one lesson all of us had reaffirmed that day, it was not to take anything for granted, because you'd never know if you got another chance to do all the things you wanted to with your life," Adam spoke slowly and clearly, letting the emotions he felt seep into his voice. He knew the audience wanted real and unscripted, and they were getting it. "As Power Rangers, we had that lesson handed to us each and every time we powered up. I think in the years after we stopped being Rangers, we forgot the meaning of take every day as if it were your last, and the tragedy of September 11th just hit home what we'd already learned, what we had once lived by."

The audience remained silent as Adam finished what he'd been saying. Barbara was also silent, wanting to give Adam's emotional statement a moment to settle over the studio and television audiences. "Are you ready for some audience questions, Adam?" she asked carefully.

The pensive look on his face disappeared behind a slow smile. "I'm more than ready."

Nodding, Barbara motioned to the microphone where a young woman of about twenty-two stood there waiting patiently. "Go ahead young lady."

"Hi Adam, I'm Carissa," she smiled at him.

"Hi Carissa. What can I answer for you?"

"I was just wondering, how has your life changed, for good and for bad, since you became a Ranger? Not the big things, but just the simple, every day things."

Adam looked a little shocked by the question but really seemed to think about it. "Well, big thing is my lack of privacy now that my identity has been broadcast to the entire world," he joked. "I mean, I just love waking up in the morning, heading downstairs to fix my daughter breakfast and looking out the kitchen window to find reporters snooping around my backyard." The audience didn't know whether to laugh or not until Adam wiggled his eyebrows. "Of course, my dog just loves that. Gives him practice chasing people, and of course, helps me keep up on those old Ninja skills what with me sneaking outside and sneaking up on people."

The audience laughed at the mental image of Adam sneaking around in a pair of boxer shorts. "Honestly, there aren't really small things that I could point out. I mean, it's kind of cool that I have people come up to me and tell me how much I've changed their lives, whether from saving them or from inspiring them. At first, that was a little weird. Again, the invasion of privacy now. Being a Ranger meant I had to get use to keeping my identity a secret. When someone got hurt or killed because I couldn't get there fast enough, I had to hold the guilt in. Like Tommy said, we had to paste on the happy teenager smile and act like nothing had happened. I can't count the number of times after a battle that I hid in my room for hours and just cried because of the guilt."

"You didn't confide in the others?" Barbara softly questioned. She was only momentarily surprised by Adam's admission of crying, but surmised he was comfortable enough to admit something that most people would consider unmanly.

Adam shook his head. "Not always. We all had demons we had to learn to overcome, and sometimes we just needed to do that on our own. You know, everyone laughs we say that one of us was this or one of us was that, but each of us had our roles to play within the dynamic of the group. Tommy and Jason were the leaders, the ones who kept us focused on what we were doing. Aisha and Tanya were the nurturers, the ones who took care of all of us, made sure we took care of ourselves. Billy and Justin were our brains, the ones who got us out of any and every situation. Trini and I were the confidants, the ones everyone came to when they just needed someone to let it out to. Rocky and Zack were the jokesters who kept everything light and easy going. Kim and Kat were our heart and soul. I can't count the number of times that Kim or Kat would come and just sit with me, not saying a word. They were our constant encouragement, the ones who reminded us why we were fighting and what we had to lose if we didn't succeed."

Carissa nodded. "In all honesty," he told her, looking right at her as he spoke. "I think that not a whole lot has changed, really, other than people know. At the heart of all of us that served the Power, we were already heroes, already warriors – being Rangers just gave us the power and the opportunity to prove it to ourselves. I hope that answers your question."

"It does, thank you."

"Our next question comes from a caller. Go ahead caller," Barbara spoke.

"Hi Barbara, hi Adam. I'm Roger from Alaska."

"What can I answer for you, Roger?" Adam started.

"Could you describe your first day on the job for us?" Roger asked.

Adam laughed. "Oh, man, you're really killing me here."

"Sorry, I'm just really curious."

"No, that's cool man. Believe it or not, the first day on the job, I wasn't even a Ranger," Adam started, grinning. "It happened a few weeks before I became a Ranger, when Rocky, Aisha and I beat the Angel Grove team in the Team Ninja competition that year. We actually met Tommy, Kim and Billy in the park that afternoon while Rollerblading. We saved a baby in a stroller from going over a hill, got kidnapped, almost turned into Zedd's evil Rangers and found out the identities of the Power Rangers."

"Oh wow!" Roger gasped. "What about the first day you became a Ranger?"

Adam's face took on a wistful quality. "My first day as a Ranger consisted of destroying one of Zedd's devices before I even got my powers then suddenly finding myself in the Command Center receiving Zack's powers and saying goodbye to three new friends before I ended up on the battlefield trying to beat back this ugly looking monster and getting my butt kicked. Overall, it's an experience I will never forget."

"Thank you Roger," Barbara spoke. "We're going to take our first break, and when we come back, we'll talk to Adam a bit more about his family."

--

"Welcome back to Setting The Record Straight. My guest tonight is Adam Park, one of the longest serving Power Rangers of not only the original twelve but of all of the Rangers of Earth."

The camera panned away from Barbara and honed in on Adam who was sitting quietly in the chair taking a sip of the water he'd been provided. "Now Adam, at the risk of repeating myself, I'd like to ask you something I've asked everyone else."

"Shoot," he grinned.

"How did your parents react to finding out your secret identity?" Barbara candidly questioned.

Adam's face was a mixture of emotions – regret, relief, understanding and a little bit of fear. When a picture of him and his parents flashed across the television screens, he carefully and silently worded his answer before speaking. "You'd be surprised," he spoke softly at first. "I expected some yelling, maybe some accusations, but you know, my parents are really quiet, really simple people, and I don't mean that as an insult. I can count on one hand the number of times in my life when either of them has really been upset with something I've done. They're just really laid back about most things, and were even when I was a kid."

"They weren't mad?" Barbara asked.

"Not so much mad as disappointed in the fact that I hadn't felt the need to tell them, at least initially," he started, a gentle smile easing onto his face. "Like the others, Rocky, Aisha and I got our parents together, sat them down, and explained to them exactly why we hadn't told them before and let them get all of the questions, rants and the likes out of the way. Surprisingly enough, the only thing my parents asked at that meeting was if there were any lasting scars or pain from being a Ranger, having obviously seen some of our battles on television."

The veteran journalist nodded. "What did you tell them?"

"How do you explain to your parents, who think they've raised you in the safest environment they thought possible, who taught you to stay out of trouble, that you have scars, mentally and physically, and you have issues that will never quite heal? I felt like I'd disappointed them somehow, because I couldn't be who they thought I'd grown into," he sighed, his face looking pained as he explained the situation. "There are things about my time as a Ranger that I refuse to share with them, even to this day, because I won't allow those things to touch my family, just like I won't allow them to touch my child. Tanya and I made an agreement when all of this first started happening that while we would tell our parents as much as we could, there are just some things that someone in our position cannot and will not tell those they love. It's one thing for you to be touched by things first hand; it's another to have it touch the people you love most."

"So after the initial confrontation?"

"My parents are pretty cool with it. My mom, every now and then, gets on my case about it, for obvious mom reasons, but my dad is just tickled pink about it," he rolled his eyes then grinned. "They're a little freaked out by people trying to contact them about it, to get in contact with me since I have an unlisted number, but they've taken it in stride, and to be quite honest, the people of Angel Grove and Stone Canyon have been more than understanding about leaving our parents alone, since most of our parents do still live there or near there."

Barbara smiled and nodded. "And how has your daughter, who's only what, four, dealt with it?"

Adam sighed happily when a picture of his daughter flashed across the screen. "Peanut Butter's really too young to understand, to be honest. She knows we were Power Rangers, but I don't think she fully understands what that means. Right now, the most important things to her are playing, eating Peanut Butter sandwiches, and playing with her many aunts and uncles."

"Does she have a favorite?" Barbara asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Surprisingly enough, her favorite uncle is Billy, cause I think when he's with her, he challenges her to think. As far as aunts, I honestly think her favorite is Kimberly. I mean, she seriously looks up to Kim in so many ways, which would probably be a first for Kim," Adam snickered, causing the audience to roar at the joke about Kim's height. "Sorry Kim!" he told the camera, knowing his cell phone would have several messages on it after he was done. "Kim's probably spent the most time with her, since Peanut's training at Kim's gymnastics academy. She sees her aunt doing something and man, she's so fearless she's all trying to do stuff she shouldn't. On more than one occasion we've had to have Kim come over to the house and explain that the gymnastics needs to stay in the gym or outside, not near the stairs."

The audience got a good chuckle out of that. "We're going to take an audience question now. Go ahead young man," Barbara motioned for the man in his late twenties standing at the microphone to ask his question.

"My name is Mike, and I was just wondering, you've called your daughter Peanut Butter, and so have the others, care to explain where the nickname came from and can you tell us her real name?"

Adam grinned. "That was a Trini given nickname after she was born," he started, grinning. "The reason we call her Peanut Butter is because she's biracial – I'm Korean-American and my wife is African-American – and Tri thought it was quite funny that the one thing throughout her entire pregnancy that Tanya craved was Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. It just sort of stuck. As far as her real name, it's Isabella."

"If her pictures are anything to go by, she's beautiful and her name fits her. Thanks Adam."

"Thank you, her mother and I think she's the most beautiful girl in the world, and you're welcome Mike, thanks for the question."

"Adam," Barbara started, gaining his attention. "Obviously, being a Ranger changed you, but while we're on the subject of family, how has fatherhood changed you?"

A huge grin spread across his face, making several of the fan girls in the audience ooh and aww over him. "It makes you a lot less selfish," he started, taking a deep breath while he thought about all the ways having his little girl had changed him. "It also makes you ten times more aware of how bad the state of the world has gotten, and that's saying something for me since I knew how bad things were fifteen years ago. It's also made me ten times more afraid every time one of us steps foot outside of the house, because you never know when you won't see each other again. I worry about her constantly – am I making the right decisions for her, is she happy, is she growing up healthy. She's also a constant joy to me, and I feel very blessed to have witnessed all her firsts – first steps, first word, first haircut, first tooth, the first time she tied her shoes."

"Now that you're a father, do you look back at things you disagreed on with your parents from when you were younger?" Barbara asked, grinning.

"Oh yeah. It's like, now, I step back and am all 'Okay, now I see why Mom or Dad said this, did this' because I look at her and all of sudden, I can so see her, just from her personality, doing that and getting into tons of trouble or doing it and getting hurt. That's one of the best things about her that she got from Tanya is that she's daring, a lot more daring than I ever was, and she's smart. But overall, I think the biggest change is that I never thought after I realized I loved Tanya that I could love anyone as much if not more, and with my daughter, I do."

"We're going to take another audience question. Go ahead young lady."

A pretty young woman with mocha colored skin and light brown hair was standing at the microphone. "Hi Adam, I'm LaKita."

"Hi LaKita. What can I answer for you?"

"Now that your identities have been revealed, we've gotten to see that the Rangers, at least Mighty Morphin up through Space, are a very diverse group, ethnically," she started, causing Adam to nod. "And obviously, you are involved in not only a biracial marriage but you have a child. How have you coped with that and how are you coping with it in terms of your daughter?"

"That's a really good question," Adam started. "And you're right, we are a pretty diverse group; Tommy's Native American, Trini's Chinese, Vietnamese and French. I'm of Korean dissent, Billy's got a little Dutch in him, Aisha and Tanya's families are both originally from Africa, Kat's Australian, Rocky's Mexican-American, and the list goes on. Despite the hardships we faced as Rangers, we never had to deal with that type of un-education in the group, though we definitely have dealt with it outside of the group," he explained, licking his lips as he thought how to word his answer. "I've had my fair share of people who've looked at me in disgust or looked at mine and Tanya's marriage with disapproval, but for the most part, no one has come up to me and said anything. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that both Tanya and I are former Rangers, because in a perfect world I'd like to think that people have more common sense to butt in where it isn't any of their business. People are entitled to their opinions, but I am raising my daughter with the understanding that your skin color doesn't matter, it's what's inside that counts. She's never going to look at someone and judge them because their different than her. I also want her to be proud of her heritage, because it's rich and diverse. One of my favorite sayings is something I got from Tommy's mother. Mrs. Oliver always says 'If God wanted us all to be the same, he'd have made us the same. He gave us different colors, different religions, and different backgrounds for a reason.' I honestly, truly, sincerely believe in that saying, because from what I've seen in my time as a Ranger and as a person in general, it's so true."

"Thank you Adam," LaKita told him before sitting down.

Barbara shifted in her seat, looking at Adam directly, a smile lighting her face. "You're and Tanya are the first of the team to have a child. After all of the things you've been through together as a team, how did that affect the dynamic of the group?"

"As a group, I really think that it was an affirmation of all the times we put our lives on the line," Adam truthfully told her. "My friends adore my daughter, and I think when Tanya and I had her, it just brought all of us closer together than ever before. She's the reason we never gave up, the reason we fought to survive. I honestly can't wait until the others start having kids, so that they can experience what it's like."

"Does that mean there may be a few buns in the oven?" Barbara teasingly pried.

"As of right now, I honestly can say I don't know, but if and when the others start having children, I'd like to ask everyone to kindly give them their privacy. Having a child is stressful enough, doing so in the public eye is probably worse. We're a very private group despite that some of us have very public careers, and despite past exploits, we'd like to be treated like normal people, because at the end of the day, that's what we are."

Barbara nodded and turned to the camera. When we come back, we'll delve more into Adam's past and see how he dealt with being a Power Ranger while being a teenager."

--

"Welcome back to Setting The Record Straight. In case you're just tuning in, my guest tonight is Adam Park, former Black and Green Ranger. Adam, are you ready for some more audience questions?"

The dark haired young man nodded. "Definitely."

"Our next question comes from a caller. Go ahead caller."

The voice of a young man sounded. "My name is Elijah, and I wanted to ask you, Adam, how hard was it juggling being a Ranger and going to high school and how did you manage it?"

"Well, Elijah, it was the hardest thing I've probably ever done in my life," Adam admitted. "We were prepared to go into battle at any moment, as we should have been, but most days, the attacks didn't happen until school let out. I honestly don't think we missed any classes the entire time any of us were Rangers. I know we missed a few extracurricular activities, and were really late for some other things, but we never missed a class, which is really strange in the grand scheme of things. I've always wondered about it myself," he paused, a goofy look crossing his features before he shook his head to clear it. "Rita, Zedd, Mondo, and Divatox had every opportunity to attack while we were stuck in class and they never did, or if they did, it was usually the last class of the day. The only time I can remember really missing something was my high school graduation and that was because Divatox decided to be a nuisance."

"So you lived in fear?" Elijah asked over the line.

"I wouldn't say I lived in fear, I'd say I was prepared for anything to happen, and it most often did; it just, looking back on it now, it never happened during school. As far as our grades and stuff, Billy and Trini really did a bang up job of keeping us focused on our school work on top of being Rangers," Adam grinned. "Zordon also made sure to instill in us how important it was that we continue to live our lives as normally as possible, because it would help us deal with being Rangers but also because we couldn't give away any indication that something was wrong. The first sign of us giving anyone reason to suspect would have meant people would start digging into our sudden disappearances and considering we wore our colors on a daily basis, it really wouldn't have been that hard to find out who we really were."

"Maybe that's why the American government found out so easily?" Elijah joked, causing Adam to crack up.

"Now, now, let's not get into politics," Adam scolded lightly. "The government is doing what it sees as necessities, even if not everyone agrees with it."

"Thanks Adam."

"You're welcome."

"Now, Adam," Barbara started, gaining his attention. "Didn't any of you ever aspire to be politicians after you gave up being a Ranger? I know that transition from saving the world to being normal again couldn't have been easy."

"Even with Jason, Zack and Trini having left for the Peace Conference and Kim and Tommy running for student council during our time as Rangers, I don't think any of us, after all was said and done, would have wanted the spotlight of being politicians," he told her, his voice dropping. "We knew all too well the problems facing not only our own country but countries around the world. I don't think we could have done the job and not revealed our identities to the entire planet at the time. We just simply knew too much."

Barbara nodded. "The transition was that hard, wasn't it?"

Adam's face showed so many emotions that it was hard to name them all. He bowed his head slightly as he tried to think of how to speak what he was thinking. AS he did so, the audience and Barbara became deathly quiet. "When you've held something like that inside of you, to suddenly not have it any more, it's hard," he started, searching for the words. "Tanya, Kat, Tommy and I weren't given the choice, really, about retiring. Dimitria basically laid it out for us that now that we were transitioning into our adult lives, the burden of being Rangers needed to be passed to a new generation, to a new group of people that we deemed worthy of taking our places. It hurt to be told that, hurt to give up that life because it was all we really knew, but in the end, I think we were soothed by the fact that we were allowed to choose our successors."

Just as Adam's words came out, the television screens flashed clips of four young people, each one wearing a signature color and each one smiling – T.J. Johnson in red, Ashley Hammond in yellow, Carlos Valerte in Green and Cassie Chan in pink. "These four...your chosen," Barbara murmured.

"We couldn't have picked better people than those four to take our places, to charge with saving the world," Adam told her, passion seeping into his voice. "Like us before them, they made mistakes, learned from their defeats and their victories, but in the end, they learned the two most important lessons any Ranger could learn – anything's possible and once a Ranger, always a Ranger."

The veteran journalist smiled at Adam's obvious pride in the four men and women that were chosen so long ago to take his and his friends' places. "Adam, what did you do in the years after you retired from being a Ranger? You've told us some of what you did earlier, like finally coming together with Tanya and having your daughter, but what else did you do?"

"I went to college," he told her, shifting in his seat. "I majored in performing arts and minored in physical education and business. I attended so many stunt seminars and training schools that I can't begin to count them, and I landed a job with one of the toughest stunt teams in the world, Alpha Stunts."

"Such a compact look on your life, surely there were other things?"

Adam nodded. "I was a behind the scenes guy when the Red Rangers from Mighty Morphin to Wild Force gathered in 2002 to take out Lord Zedd's Serpentara, which had been uncovered by the remnants of the Machine Empire. During Tommy's tenure as the Black Ranger for Dino Thunder I was also on standby incase they needed the Zeo Rangers for back up. Other than that, I've been able to be there for my friends, watch them accomplish their dreams, and I think one of my favorite things that I've done since retiring was watching Tommy and Kim find each other again."

Barbara looked confused. "Why would you say that?"

"Because, I've been there, I've seen the road they traveled, from being as close as two people humanly can be to their break up, to the long road to them being together again. I wasn't around when they fell in love the first time, but being around them this time..." he started, trailing off. "I know they both hate the term, but honestly, they seriously have a fairytale romance in some aspects. They were lucky enough to be given that elusive second chance, and they didn't waste it."

"You've started your own business now, haven't you?"

Adam nodded. "One of my dreams as a young martial artist was to open my own dojo. This spring, I'm making that a reality. The Green Frog Martial Arts and stunt school is opening its first branch in Angel Grove. I've already got more students signed up than I'm going to know what to do with."

"Will we be seeing future branches of the school?"

The happy grin was contagious to the audience as Adam's head bobbed. "I've already got plans drawn up for locations in Stone Canyon, Los Angeles, a mini school in Reefside that will be headed by Kim and Tommy, and possibly one in Mariner Bay, which will also include a flight school headed by Lightspeed's Green Ranger."

"Impressive. You honestly think that your business will do that well?"

"I've already got close to about three thousand students who've shown interest in the schools, and some of them include some of the best stunt teams in the country, not to mention a few from around the world," Adam confidently replied. "One of my favorite sayings is 'Go Big or Go Home', so I'm putting it to use."

Barbara shifted through some papers and then smiled. "We're going to take an audience question. Go ahead young lady," she gestured to the pretty blonde standing at the microphone.

"Hi Adam, I'm Kelly."

"Hi Kelly. What can I answer for you?"

"I was wondering, what do you like better, being a stuntman or having been a Ranger, and what are the difference and similarities between the two?"

Pursing his lips, Adam sat back and thought about it. "To be honest, I don't think I can choose one over the other. They've both had special places in my life. As far as the differences, obviously, being a stuntman means I'm putting my life on the line, trusting that what I've learned and that the skills my colleagues have will keep me from getting killed. As a Ranger, I had the power backing me, and while there was a chance that I could get killed, I knew that the power would absorb most of the impact and do it's best to shield me. Similarities, they're both an adrenaline rush, and I excelled at both."

"Thank you, Adam."

"Thanks for the question," he smiled at the young lady. Turning, Adam, like the rest of the audience noticed the seriousness of Barbara's expression and suddenly he felt that an important question was about to be brought up. "Uh oh, I don't think I like that face," Adam joked softly.

"Given a choice, knowing what you know now, would you still have become a Ranger or would you have said no?"

Adam didn't even blink as he answered that. "I would still, even today, have chosen exactly as I had then," he told her, his voice serious, drawing the audience to the edge of their seats.

"Why?"

"Because, there was no choice, there was no possibility of not accepting the task I'd been charged with," he explained. "Yes, it was a long, hard, arduous road to travel, and yes, as I've said before, there were things I wish I hadn't gone through that resulted from being a Ranger, but neither my friends nor I would be who we are today if we hadn't been Rangers, and the world wouldn't be as it is, intact, if we hadn't been Rangers."

"You don't think there were others out there at the time who could have done the job?" Barbara quietly asked.

"Zordon didn't choose them, he chose us, for a reason," Adam's voice had a slightly hard edge to it. "Each team has been called up when it was their time, for a reason – they've been called up when the Power recognized they were ready. They might not have thought so, and while I respect today's outlook on magic, religion and personal choice, I also know that there are things out there that no one has control over – call it fate, call it destiny, call it The Force or the Great Power; whatever it is, it knows and it sees and it determines when it's time for a new team of Rangers to come into existence. This only happens when evil threatens to destroy the delicate balance that is maintained. To answer your question, I would still make the same decision today, even as a father and husband, as I did the day I was asked to be a Ranger. There is, and was, no other choice for me."

Barbara nodded and turned to the camera. "When we come back, we're going to delve into some Ranger-centered questions for Adam. Stay tuned."

--

The lights in the studio dimmed a bit when the director motioned that they were back on the air. "Welcome back to Setting The Record Straight, I'm your host, Barbara Walters. Our guest tonight is Adam Park, former Black Morphin and Green Zeo and Turbo Ranger. Our final segment is going to delve a little deeper into Adam's time as a Ranger. Audience are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Adam," Barbara grinned. "Are YOU ready?"

"Of course."

"Then let's begin. Our next question is going to come from a caller. Go ahead."

"Hi Adam, my name is Megan."

"Hi Megan. What can I answer for you?" Adam asked, tilting his head to the side slightly so that he could hear her question clearly through the speaker above him.

"Well, I was wondering, in all your time as a Ranger, who was your worst enemy?"

Adam seemed to sit back in his chair and blow out a long breath at that. The audience could see him almost thinking back on the countless monsters and villains he faced as a Power Ranger. "Without a doubt, Lord Zedd."

"Why?"

With a sigh, Adam sat straighter in his chair and reached for the glass of water in front of him. After a long swallow, he cleared his throat. "I never had to face Rita on her own, not like the original six did," he explained first. "And the Machines and Divatox were literally laughable at times, but for all his dumb ideas, and the stupid monsters he sent down, Zedd was the one who, pardon my language, fucked with our heads the worst. He's the one who nearly killed us on more than one occasion, he's the one who made us doubt ourselves the most, he's the one who singled all of us out at one time or another and played mind games. He's the one who finally took Tommy's Green Ranger powers, he's the one who nearly drained Kimberly's life force from her, and he's the one who pitted us against each other at the worst of times. Call Zedd comical if you want, but he played mind games better than any of the other villains we faced, and of all of them, he did more damage to us by messing with our heads then sending down monsters to attack the city. We knew our limits, physically, in beating his monsters. He sought to destroy our spirits and our minds by attacking us where we were most vulnerable – mentally and emotionally."

"Thank you Adam."

"You're welcome," he looked directly into the camera and nodded before turning to look at Barbara.

"Jason mentioned in his interview something about you having animal spirits, or animal guides. Will you tell me about them?"

Adam smiled then, feeling much better now that the topic had shifted to something he loved talking about. "Six of us, well seven if you count Katherine, were given spirit animals by Ninjor, Keeper of the Temple of Power, and forger of the original power coins. It happened after Rito Revolto, Rita's brother, came and destroyed our Thunder Zords and basically our powers," he explained. "Rocky is the Ape, Aisha is the Bear, Billy's the Wolf, I'm the Frog, Kimberly and Katherine shared the Crane powers but they are, for all intense purposes, Kimberly's, and Tommy was the Falcon."

"A frog?" Barbara asked, amusement in her voice and on her face.

"Yeah, you know, a frog, like the ones you kiss to get a handsome prince?" Adam cracked, wiggling his eyebrows while not only Barbara but the audience laughed.

"What was it like for you to receive your spirit animal?"

The former Ninjetti seemed to contemplate that question a moment. "It opened a whole new world for all of us. Our Ninja Powers, and subsequently our spirit animals, really cemented the bond being Rangers had created, let alone the bonds some of us had created growing up together, or in Tommy and Kim's case, the bond created by the love for each other. Our spirit animals are an embodiment of us, the traits and characteristics that make up who we are."

"Losing Kimberly and then having Katherine take her place couldn't have been easy then."

Adam shook his head. "No, it wasn't easy. Kimberly's powers were stripped from her in a way not even Tommy had had to go through with the Green Ranger powers. Zordon had to physically sever Kim's ties to her powers, and by extension to us, because the spirit animals and the powers they provided us to become Ninjas and Rangers were tied directly into our life force, the very essence of our beings. It was a blow to not only Kim, but to us as well. We all felt it, especially Tommy. When the Pink Power Coin was retrieved, Katherine was chosen, by Kim, to wield the powers. While that's what happened, and Katherine had success being the Pink Ninja and Ranger, the spirit of the Crane is forever Kimberly's."

"It's rumored that you helped out The Space Rangers very briefly, would you describe that experience?" Barbara asked him.

"I really don't want to get into too much detail about that, but to sum it up, basically Carlos had an experience that each of us has had during our tenure as Rangers, and he needed someone not on his own team to help him work through it, so that's exactly what I did; I helped him work through it. No more, no less."

The veteran journalist let her eyebrow lift at Adam's succinct answer to her question but let it pass without another comment. It was obvious it wasn't a subject he wanted to talk about, and she wasn't going to push him. "We have time for two more questions, so we're going to take a final one from the audience. Go ahead young man," she gestured to the thirty-something at the microphone.

"My name is Alex."

"Hi Alex."

"Adam, my question is this - being a Ranger is almost likened to being in a secret society, and you are one of the first. How do you deal with the adoration of the Rangers who came after you? Obviously, you've met some of the Rangers that came after you, but which teams have you met or have you not kept up with them?"

"Wow, that's a mouthful, and I've never looked at being a Ranger as being in a secret society, even though, now that I think about it, it sorta is," he quipped, shifting in his seat. "I'm not like Tommy, I haven't met the majority of the teams that came after us," he grinned, winking at the camera, knowing that the others were sure to razz their friend. "I've met some from most of the teams, with the exception being Space and Dino Thunder, who I've met all of. I'd say that while they admire those of us who came before them, it's more of a mutual respect thing. The newbies always seem to be the worst until they fight alongside of you, then they understand that you're normal, just like everyone else." Adam watched the audience laugh and Barbara smile, and knew that both Cole and Conner were going to get a razzing because of his comment. "Did that answer your question?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"You're welcome."

Barbara cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "I have one final question before we wrap up. The four of your teammates who've sat on this stage before you spoke with a mixture of emotions when I asked them what I'm about to ask you," she started, catching Adam's attention. The former Ranger almost seemed to understand she'd chosen the hardest question of all for last. "How did you deal with the loss of Zordon, and the fact that a Ranger was forced to take his life?"

The audience watched in silence as the look on Adam's face spoke volumes. His throat seemed to move intensely as he tried to swallow the obvious emotional lump that had formed at her question. "How does anyone deal with the death of a loved one?" he rhetorically asked. "Everyone deals with that sort of thing differently, we weren't any different. I remember the day he died; I knew, just like the others did, the moment when he was gone. I felt him go, felt the safe and reassuring presence that had been with me since the day I became a Ranger simply fade away. Losing him was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through, because he was very much like a second father to me. He was everything we'd stood for, the embodiment of everything we were fighting for. He was our pillar of strength and our level-headed council in uncertain times. It was only fitting that when his time came, it was a Ranger who took his life. I know that sounds morbid," Adam told everyone calmly. "But it's true. I bore no ill will towards Andros for having to do what Zordon demanded of him, because I don't think that any of us who actually had served under him would have been able to do it. We were too attached to him, we'd have argued to find another way. While Andros was friends with him, he hadn't been one of Zordon's Rangers. I know it's given him some bad moments, just like it's given us all bad moments, but he did the one thing the rest of us couldn't – he honored Zordon's selfless request to reset the balance as only he could."

Barbara nodded and reached out to take Adam's hand, understanding he needed a moment. "Thank you, Adam, for joining us tonight."

"It was my pleasure," he murmured.

Turning to the camera, Barbara quietly read from the prompter. "Join us for our next interview with the Original Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston. Until then, I'm Barbara Walters and on behalf of the staff and the Rangers themselves, I'd like to thank you for joining us tonight. Good night."


End file.
